HAPHAZARD  PERSONALITIES; 


CHIEFLY  OF 


NOTED  AMERICANS 


BY 

CHARLES    LANMAN 
M 

AUTHOR    OF    THK     PRIVATE     LIFK     OK     DANIEL    WEBBTER,     BTC. 


BOSTON 
LEE  AND    SHEPARD,    PUBLISHERS 

NEW    YORK 
CHARLES   T.   DILLINGHAM 

1886 


L3 


COPYRIGHT,   1885, 

LEE    AND    SIIEPARD. 


ALL  RIOI1TH    KE8EHVKD. 


Printed  and  Kltctrntupcd  l>y 
A  I.  F  K  K  I)     II  f  IXi  K     AND     HON. 

24  Franklin  St.,  Boston. 


PREFACE. 


DURING  my  protracted  experiences  as  a  merchant's  clerk 
in  New  York,  a  newspaper  man,  an  author  and  artist,  and 
an  official,  in  Washington,  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  make 
many  good  friends  among  the  noted  men  of  the  time,  and  it 
is  to  a  portion  of  these  that  I  have  devoted  this  volume. 
My  object  has  not  been  to  write  biographies,  but  merely  to 
give  such  interesting  revelations  of  character  as  have  come 
under  my  own  personal  observation.  In  doing  this,  I  have 
been  obliged,  occasionally,  to  be  a  little  autobiographic  in  my 
methods;  but  there  seemed  to  be  no  alternative,  and  the 
reader  must  not  question  my  sense  of  delicacy.  The  per 
sonal  records  in  my  possession  have  by  no  means  been  ex 
hausted  in  the  following  pages,  and  I  cannot  but  hope  that 
when  the  proper  time  arrives,  some  additional  recollections 
will  see  the  light,  and  be  as  warmly  welcomed  by  the  public 
as  my  literary  efforts  have  always  been  in  the  days  that  are 
no  more. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

JOSEPH  HENRY 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW      .......  27 

JOSEPH  (TALKS  AND  WILLIAM  W.  SKATON     ....  41 

WASHINGTON  IRVING 75 

GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH 91 

WILLIAM  C.  BRYANT 100 

HKNUY  CLAY 120 

EDWARD  KVKRETT          ........  130 

PARK  BKNJAMIN 140 

HOMAGE  GREELEY 15.". 

PKTKU  FORCE 160 

WILLIAM  S.  MOUNT 168 

JAMES  BROOKS        .         .         .         .        .         .        .        .         .180 

LEWIS  CASS 184 

M ANTON  EASTBURN 201 

Louis  LEGRAND  NOBLE 20G 

WILLIAM  B.  SPRAGUE 226 

WILLIAM  JERDAN  AND  WASHINGTON  IRVING        .        .        .  228 

JOHN  HOWARD  PAYNE 231 

EDWARD  X.  KIRK  ...» 238 

ELISHA  KENT  KANE        .                          243 

GEORGE  W.  BETHUNE 250 

EMANUEL  LEUTZE 254 

CHARLES  HEAVYSEGE 259 

LAFAYETTE  8.  FOSTER 277 

CHARLES  DICKENS  AND  WASHINGTON  IRVING       .        .        .  282 

WILLIAM  A.  BUCKINGHAM      .         .         .        .        .         .        .  28s 

JOHN  F.  T.  CHAMPION 290 

SAMUEL  TYLER      . 304 

WIXFIELI>  SCOTT 316 

CHARLES  MACKAY 320 

CLARK  MILLS '.  321) 

CHARLES  P.  MC!LVAINE 334 

MARTIN  F.  T  UPPER 339 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS      342 

HENRY  R.  SCHOOLCRAFT 365 

GEORGE  B.  MC€LKLLAN 370 

JOHN  TRUMBULL    ..,,..  379 


HAPHAZARD  PERSONALITIES. 


JOSEPH   HENRY. 

MY  acquaintance  with  this  eminent  man  began  in  1848, 
and  was  one  of  the  silken  threads  in  the  warp  of  my  life. 
With  him  and  his  family  I  boarded  for  a  few  months  in 
the  house  of  Henry  R.  Schoolcraft  in  Washington.  He 
seemed,  from  the  first,  to  take  an  interest  in  my  welfare  ; 
and  while  he  honored  me  with  his  advice  on  matters  con 
nected  with  my  duties  as  a  writer  for  the  National  Intel 
ligencer,  his  wife  treated  me  with  the  greatest  kindness, 
so  that  my  affection  for  the  twain  was  most  sincere. 

This  is  not  the  place,  even  if  the  ability  were  mine,  to 
comment  upon  his  splendid  career  as  a  man  of  science, 
nor  do  I  propose  to  repeat  the  record  of  his  life  which  I 
prepared  for  my  "Biographical  Annals";  one  or  two 
incidents,  however,  connected  with  his  boyhood,  which 
were  narrated  to  me  by  himself,  may  with  propriety  be 
mentioned  here,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  his  introduc 
tion  to  the  worlds  of  literature  and  science. 

Having  lost  his  father,  William  Henry,  when  a  mere 
child,  he  was  early  sent  to  live  with  his  grandmother,  in 
the  village  of  Galway,  Saratoga  County,  N.  Y.  When  in 
his  tenth  year,  while  trying  to  capture  a  pet  rabbit,  he 
followed  the  animal  into  one  of  the  air-holes  under  the 
village  church  ;  prowling  about  on  his  hand  and  knees,  he 
was  attracted  by  a  gleam  of  light  in  one  corner  of  the 

[7] 


8  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

building,  and  after  due  investigation  he  found  that  it 
proceeded  from  a  room  where  the  flooring  had  been  left 
unfinished,  leaving  a  space  suiliciently  large  for  the  body 
of  a  small  boy  to  pass  through.  The  opportunity  was 
not  neglected,  and  he  soon  found  himself  u  alone  in  his 
glory,"  in  the  village  library.  The  books  were  not  many, 
and  were  very  dusty,  but  there  was  a  charm  in  the  silence 
of  the  place,  as  well  as  in  the  illicit  exploration  upon 
which  he  had  entered.  He  took  from  the  shelf  a  book, 
which  happened  to  be  "  The  Fool  of  Quality,"  and,  having 
forgotten  his  rabbit,  he  began  to  read.  He  became  much 
interested,  and  read  until  nightfall,  when  he  retired  by 
the  dark  passage  through  which  he  had  entered.  He 
made  a  second  and  a  third  visit,  and  having  been  unmo 
lested,  continued  his  visitations  until  he  had  read  and 
enjoyed  every  novel  in  the  library.  From  that  time  until 
he  attained  his  sixteenth  year,  and  while  acting  as  a  clerk 
in  a  store,  he  was  an  inveterate  novel  reader,  and  except 
ing  for  the  tendency  of  the  habit  to  make  young  people 
unduly  fond  of  the  theatre,  his  later  testimony  wras  to  the 
effect  that  novel  reading  may  be  of  advantage  to  some 
minds,  by  way  of  strengthening  the  imagination. 

His  passion  for  novel  reading  ended  quite  as  suddenly 
as  it  had  begun,  and  the  transition  to  a  higher  phase  of 
culture  happened  after  this  manner.  When  in  his  six 
teenth  year  he  was  living  in  Albany,  where  he  was  born 
Dec.  17,  1709.  His  mother,  a  noble  and  a  handsome 
woman,  here  kept  a  private  boarding-house  for  a  time. 
Among  the  boarders  was  a  gentleman  of  literary  tastes, 
and  by  a  mere  accident  one  of  his  books  fell  into  the 
hand  of  young  Henry.  The  title  of  it  was  "  Lectures 
on  Experimental  Philosophy,  Astronomy,  and  Chem 
istry,"  by  George  Gregory,  D.  I).,  London,  1808.  Ily 


JOSEPH    IIENHY.  9 

took  the  book,  and  on  reading  a  passage  about  the  motions 
of  the  earth  around  the  sun,  and  the  theory  of  gravita 
tion,  lie  threw  it  aside  and  denounced  such  doctrines  as 
utterly  false.  He  took  up  the  volume  a  second  time, 
however,  when  a  light  began  to  dawn  upon  his  mind,  as 
the  light  under  the  church  had  reached  his  vision  a  few 
years  before;  he  soon  became  so  much  interested  in  the 
volume  that  its  owner  presented  it  to  him,  and  it  was  ever 
afterward  kept  by  Professor  Henry  as  one  of  his  treas 
ures,  llis  reasons  for  so  highly  appreciating  it  are  set 
forth  in  the  following  words,  which  will  be  found  written 
on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  memorable  volume  :  — 

44  Tliis  book,  although  by  no  means  a  profound  work, 
has,  under  Providence,  exerted  a  remarkable  influence  on 
my  life.  It  accidentally  fell  into  my  hands  when  I  was 
about  sixteen  years  old,  and  was  the  first  book,  with  the 
exception  of  works  of  fiction,  that  I  ever  read  with  atten 
tion.  It  opened  to  me  a  new  world  of  thought  and 
enjoyment,  invested  tilings,  before  almost  unnoticed,  with 
the  highest  interest,  fixed  my  mind  on  the  study  of 
nature,  and  caused  me  to  resolve,  at  the  time  of  reading 
it,  that  I  would  devote  my  life  to  the  acquisition  of  knowl 
edge.  —  Joseph  Henry." 

This  was  written  in  1837,  just  before  leaving  for  Europe, 
on  his  first  visit ;  which  tour,  as  he  once  told  me,  was 
of  very  great  benefit  to  him  in  his  various  researches. 
After  reading  Dr.  Gregory's  book,  he  began  the  study  of 
science  with  avidity,  and  while  laying  the  foundation  for 
his  subsequent  fame,  he  assisted  a  relative,  Mr.  John  F. 
Doty,  silversmith,  as  a  clerk  for  about  two  years,  and  he 
taught  in  a  country  school.  It  was  about  this  time  that 
he  gained  a  local  reputation  as  an  amateur  actor.  A 
dramatic  club  to  which  he  belonged  occasionally  gave  the 


10  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

public  an  entertainment.  The  audiences  were  often  quite 
large,  and  "Joe  Henry,"  as  he  was  called,  was  noted 
as  a  "  star,"  and  was  popular  in  the  characters  of  Hamlet, 
Damon,  and  Norvel.  He  also  wrote  two  or  three  simple 
plays,  and  became  the  president  of  the  dramatic  club  ;  and 
here,  by  way  of  further  illustrating  this  dramatic  episode, 
the  writer  takes  pleasure  in  submitting  the  following, 
related  by  Thurlow  Weed  :  — 

i '  When  I  was  a  younger  man,  in  Albany  there  was  a  young 
apprentice  to  Mr.  Doty,  a  silversmith,  who  appeared  to  be 
a  very  bright  fellow  of  seventeen  years.  He  read  books 
with  avidity,  but  none  with  more  pleasure  and  eagerness 
than  Shakespeare  and  the  works  of  other  dramatic  writers. 
He  seemed  to  have  an  especial  passion  for  such,  indeed, 
coupled  with  an  inclination  for  the  stage.  The  time  came 
soon  for  the  indulgence  of  this  taste,  and  he  joined  a 
company  of  young  amateur  actors  who  played  at  a  little 
theatre  called  the  Thespian.  The  young  apprentice's 
talent  for  dramatic  impersonation  became  the  talk  of  the 
town  before  long ;  and  when  Mr.  Bernard,  a  noted  man 
ager  in  those  days,  came  to  Albany  with  his  own  strong 
company  of  professional  actors,  he  was  impelled  to  visit 
the  Thespian  Theatre  to  see  the  young  amateur  of  whom 
he  had  heard  so  favorably.  The  play  that  night  was 
'  Hamlet,'  and  the  manager  was  so  struck  with  the  young 
actor's  ability  and  intelligence  that  he  sent  for  him  and 
made  him  a  very  tempting  offer  to  join  his  own  company 
and  adopt  the  stage  as  a  profession. 

"Just  before  this,"  explained  Mr.  Weed  to  his  audi 
tors,  "  the  young  man  had  received  an  offer  of  a  gratui 
tous  education  from  Dr.  Beck,  president  of  the  Albany 
Academy,  and  the  night  the  manager  spoke  to  him  he 
sought  the  counsel  of  two  of  his  chums.  One  of  these 


JOSEPH    HENRY.  11 

two  was  Muster  Thurlow  Weed,  then  a  young  journeyman 
printer.  Both  advised  him  strongly  to  accept  Dr.  Beck's 
offer.  But  the  young  apprentice  was  still  in  doubt.  His 
inclination  prompted  him  to  go  on  the  stage,  while  his 
judgment  dictated  the  acceptance  of  Dr.  Beck's  kind 
offer.  He  left  at  last,  saying  that  he  would  talk  with  his 
employer  about  it. 

"  Silversmith  Doty  liked  the  lad,  and  believed  that  he  had 
a  career  of  usefulness  before  him  in  some  learned  profes 
sion  ;  so  when  the  lad  told  him  of  the  two  offers  he  had 
received,  he  said  kindly,  but  firmly :  '  Joseph,  you  are 
under  indentures  to  me  for  two  years  yet.  If  you  will 
accept  the  offer  of  a  free  education,  I  will  let  you  go 
freely.  But  if  you  conclude  to  go  on  the  stage,  you  must 
make  good  to  me  the  loss  of  these  two  years  of  service.' 
This  determined  the  lad,  and  he  went  to  Dr.  Beck's, 
studied  faithfully,  graduated  with  honors,  and  became 
one  of  the  first  scholars  of  his  day. 

"  Of  course,"  said  the  narrator,  with  a  quiet  smile,  "  you 
are  curious  to  know  who  he  was.  I  will  tell  you.  The 
lad  was  Dr.  Joseph  Henry,  the  late  president  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  and  whenever  he  came  to  see  me 
in  New  York  before  his  death,  he  and  I  used  to  recall 
how  small  ail  incident  it  was  that  turned  the  tide  of  his 
life  into  its  current  of  widest  usefulness.  He  was  for 
three  years  a  tutor  in  the  family  of  Stephen  Van  llensse- 
laer,  the  patroon,  and  it  was  after  he  left  this  family  that 
he  obtained  a  position  as  surveyor  and  helped  to  run  the 
route  from  West  Point  to  Lake  Erie." 

He  afterwards  became  an  assistant  at  the  academy  over 
which  Dr.  T.  R.  Beck  presided,  and  had  some  difficulty 
with  a  brother  of  the  doctor,  arising  out  of  a  spirit  of 
rivalry,  and  that  circumstance  made  him  very  unhappy. 


12  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

At  this  particular  time,  while  out  walking,  he  met  his 
warm  personal  friend,  George  Clinton,  who  inquired  the 
cause  of  his  apparent  dejection,  and  on  being  informed, 
he  made  this  remark,  ''Henry,  it  is  your  duty  to  leave 
Albany,  as  you  know  a  prophet  is  not  without  honor  save 
in  his  own  country."  But  the  time  for  his  departure  had 
not  arrived.  It  was  at  this  period  that  he  began,  and  put 
upon  paper,  some  of  the  thougths  he  had  been  cherishing, 
and  printed  them  in  the  transactions  of  the  Albany  Insti 
tute,  among  them  an  article  on  the  Galvanic  Multiplier ; 
and  became  a  contributor  to  the  "American  Journal  of 
Science  and  the  Arts  "  in  1830,  which  was  the  year  of  his 
marriage  to  Harriet  L.  Alexander,  of  Schenectady,  New 
York. 

In  1832  he  received  a  letter  from  one  of  the  official 
heads  of  Princeton  College,  suggesting  his  appointment  to 
a  professorship.  He  replied  that  he  would  not  ask  for 
the  position,  but  if  it  should  be  tendered  to  him,  by  elec 
tion,  he  would  probably  accept ;  and  all  that  he  could  do 
was,  to  refer  for  his  moral  character  to  the  patroon,  and 
for  his  scientific  attainments  to  Prof.  James  Renwick,  of 
Columbia  College.  He  was  duly  elected,  and  how  he 
built  up  his  splendid  fame  in  Princeton  is  well  known  to 
the  scientific  world.  But,  as  he  told  me,  one  of  the  great 
est  trials  of  his  life  was  his  departure  from  Albany.  lie 
felt  as  if  he  could  not  possibly  sever  the  ties  which  hound 
him  to  his  early  home,  and  the  future  was  so  uncertain. 
Such -was  the  state  of  his  mind,  even  when  he  had  gone  on 
board  the  steamboat  which  was  to  take  him  to  New  Jersey, 
and  one  incident  connected  with  that  departure  I  have 
heard  him  mention  with  the  most  tender  feelings.  As  he 
sat  in  the  cabin,  in  a  very"  brown  study, "some  onegently 
tapped  him  on  the  shoulder  and  spoke  a  kindly  word. 


JOSEPH    HENRY.  13 

That  friend  was  John  Dunlap,  and  one  of  his  remarks  was 
this,  "Don't  be  depressed,  my  good  fellow;  the  time 
will  come  when  Albany  will  be  proud  to  claim  you  as  her 
son  ! "  That  right  has  since  been  heartily  claimed,  not 
only  by  the  city  of  Albany,  but  by  his  native  country. 
How  Professor  Henry  afterward  passed  from  Princeton  to 
the  head  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  is  universally 
known  ;  that  transition  was  made  with  a  reluctance  allied 
to  that  which  he  felt  on  leaving  Albany  ;  and  in  these  days 
of  excessive  office-seeking,  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  he 
never  desired  or  solicited  any  official  position  in  all  his 
life,  except  that  of  a  country  schoolmaster,  and  never 
entered  upon  a  new  sphere  of  duty,  without  fear  and 
trembling. 

At  the  time  of  my  first  acquaintance  with  Professor 
Henry,  and  through  all  the  intervening  years,  the  great 
institution  which  he  was  called  upon  to  organize  seemed 
to  be  the  absorbing  theme  of  his  thought,  and  I  have 
been  surprised  to  see  how  his  enlightened  and  far-seeing 
plans  have  all  been  carried  out.  In  those  early  days,  there 
were  many  men  in  Washington  who  were  worth  knowing, 
and  whose  influence  upon  a  young  man  was  calculated  to 
be  of  lasting  benefit ;  and  through  such  men  as  Professors 
Henry,  and  A.  D.  Bache,  Gales  and  Seaton,  and  George 
P.  Marsh,  I  had  access  to  the  most  cultivated  society. 
The  refined  and  elevated  gatherings  which  were  held  at  the 
houses  of  all  these  noted  men  were  a  real  blessing  in  my 
experience  ;  and  when  Congress  was  in  session,  such  men 
as  Clay,  and  Webster,  and  Calhoun  often  stepped  into 
those  eddies  of  literary  and  scientific  culture. 

Although  my  relations  with  Professor  Henry  were  only 
those  of  a  personal  friend,  he  was  wont,  occasionally, 
to  call  upon  me  to  help  him  in  matters  of  a  purely  literary 


14  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

character,  and  what  very  little  I  could  do  for  him  was  paid 
for  most  liberally,  by  the  information  he  communicated  to 
me  in  a  quiet  way,  and  by  admitting  me  into  his  entire  con 
fidence.  He  was  so  conscientious  in  the  performance  of 
his  official  duties,  that  he  ever  seemed  disinclined  to  waste 
the  hours  of  business  in  the  formalities  of  social  life  ; 
but  when  the  cares  of  the  day  were  ended,  he  took  great 
pleasure  in  entertaining  his  friends  at  home,  which  he 
always  did  with  surpassing  dignity,  kindness,  and  grace, 
and  in  attending  the  dinners  and  select  receptions  of  his 
official  friends.  But  of  all  the  places  where  it  was  my 
privilege  to  meet  him,  none  could  compare  with  his  private 
study  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  when  he  was  alone, 
and  the  silence  of  the  place  at  night  invited  the  mind  into 
the  higher  realms  of  thought.  Some  of  my  interviews 
with  him  will  always  live  in  my  memory  ;  and  if  it  were 
proper  to  do  so,  I  might  mention  remarks  there  first 
uttered  by  the  man  of  science,  wrhich  I  have  known  to  cul 
minate  for  the  advantage  and  honor  of  deserving  men  in 
the  literary  and  scientific  world,  who  were  perhaps  unaware 
at  the  time  that  their  abilities  were  appreciated  by  the 
great  discoverer  and  philosopher.  It  was  by  him  that  the 
genius  of  Simon  Newcomb  was  fostered  ;  and  I  remember 
on  one  occasion,  when  he  read  to  me  a  letter  which  lie  had 
just  written  to  a  noted  astronomer  of  France,  in  which  he 
spoke  of  Professor  Newcomb  in  extravagant  terms  of 
praise,  I  said  to  him,  "The  young  astronomer  ought  to 
see  that  letter"  ;  but  lie  replied,  "Oh,  no,  he  will  never  see 
it,  but  he  is  a  remarkable  man  ! " 

Among  the  items  of  his  conversation  which  I  remember 
are  the  following :  How  strange  it  was  that  Presidents 
Lincoln  and  Grant  could  never  be  induced  to  visit  the 
Smithsonian  Institution ;  how,  when  the  professor  once 


JOSEPH    HENRY.  15 

made  an  allusion  to  A.  D.  Bache,  the  latter  replied,  "  Oh, 
yes,  you  mean  the  man  who  gave  away  his  fortune  so 
foolishly  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  scientific  pur 
poses;"  how  he  met  a  man  in  1872,  who  thanked  him  for 
his  lecture  on  architecture  which  he  had  heard  at  Princeton 
thirty  years  before  ;  and  how  no  recommendation  or  scheme 
which  he  had  originated  had  ever  been  unsuccessful. 

Like  Daniel  Webster,  he  was  an  early  riser  and  did  much 
of  his  correspondence  in  the  morning,  and  usually  spent 
two  or  three  hours  in  his  library  before  breakfast. 

The  first  nota  I  ever  received  from  him  was  written  in 
December,  1848,  and  the  substance  of  it  was  as  follows : 
"I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  you  are  confined  to  your  room, 
and  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  call  to  see  you.  Mrs. 
Henry  bids  me  say  that  she  will  be  glad  to  receive  you  into 
our  house,  and  to  administer  in  any  way  she  is  able  to  your 
comfort.  The  invitation  to  our  house  is  not  a  mere  com 
plimentary  offer,  but  one  which  is  intended  as  a  real  ex 
pression  of  feeling.  Please  let  us  know  by  the  bearer  how 
you  are." 

Another  letter,  illustrating  his  familiar  style,  is  given 
entire :  — 

PRINCETON,  Aug.  14, 1840. 

My  dear  /Sir,  —  Mrs.  Henry  reminds  me  that  I  ought 
to  acquaint  you  with  the  reason  why  we  did  not  pay  our 
respects  to  your  lady,  before  our  departure  for  the  North. 
We  started  with  the  intention  of  doing  so  on  the  day  of 
the  presentation  of  premiums  at  the  Seminary  (in  George 
town),  but  we  were  so  long  detained  by  the  ceremony  that 
my  time  was  exhausted,  and  I  was  obliged  to  drive  im 
mediately  back  without  calling.  After  that,  on  account  of 
sickness  in  the  family,  and  preparation  for  starting,  Mrs. 
H.  could  not  find  an  opportunity  of  visiting  Georgetown. 


16  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

I  am  off  for  Cambridge  this  morning.  Mrs.  H.  will 
follow  me  in  a  few  days.  We  shall  probably  give  Mr. 
Bache  a  visit  in  his  camp  on  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  College  of  New  Jersey  has  just  opened  with  a  large 
addition  of  new  students.  The  village  is  entirely  free 
from  everything  like  cholera.  The  survivors  of  the  late 
railroad  accident  are  all  in  a  fair  way  of  recovery.  Am 
putation  has  in  no  case  been  found  necessary.  I  have 
been  shown  a  drawing  of  the  appearance  of  the  wreck, 
immediately  after  the  collision.  Such  was  the  momentum 
of  the  moving  mass  that  one  car  penetrated  another,  and 
the  two  in  the  drawing  are  represented  as  occupying  the 
same  space.  It  is  passing  strange  that  any  of  the  occu 
pants  could  have  escaped  with  life.  The  sufferers  have 
received  unremitting  attention  from  the  citizens  of  the 
village. 

I  see  by  the  papers  that  you  are  about  to  publish,  in 
the  form  of  a  volume,  your  travels  in  the  South.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  this  volume  will  sustain  and  increase  the 
reputation  you  have  already  acquired.  You  can  now 
neither  go  back  nor  stay  still :  you  have  given  to  the 
world  a  pledge  of  new  exertions.  Man  is  capable  of 
indefinite  improvement ;  and  he  who  has  done  one  tiling 
well  awakens  the  expectation  that  he  will  do  something 
better.  He  who  has  commenced  to  ascend  the  steep  of 
"fame's  proud  temple"  must  expect  to  find  no  resting- 
place  ;  his  exertions  upward  must  be  constant,  —  to  pause 
is  to  descend. 

Will  has  entered  college,  and  has  just  been  summoned 
to  attend  his  first  prayer  in  the  chapel. 

With  kind  regards  to  your  lady,  I  remain 

Truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  HENRY. 


JOSEPH  HENRY.  17 

The  allusion  in  this  letter  to  Professor  Bache  reminds 
me  of  the  fact  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  visits 
from  his  friends,  in  camp,  when  out  upon  his  scientific 
tours  in  summer,  and  also  that  his  most  accomplished 
wife  always  accompanied  him,  and  often  assisted  him  in 
his  triangulations.  The  railway  accident  alluded  to  was 
one  of  the  most  fatal  that  ever  occurred  in  New  Jersey. 
The  person  mentioned  as  Will,  was  Professor  Henry's 
only  son,  an  admirable  young  man,  who  died  in  his  early 
prime,  but  left  behind  him  three  charming  and  highly 
accomplished  sisters  to  comfort  and  cheer  his  parents  in 
their  declining  years. 

The  letters  and  notes  which  I  received  from  Professor 
Henry  were  many,  but  I  will  only  mention  two  of  them  in 
this  place.  *  Soon  after  Mr.  Corcoran  had  suggested  the 
idea  of  my  having  charge  of  his  picture  gallery,  when 
organized,  I  naturally  mentioned  the  circumstance  to 
Professor  Henry,  and  in  the  goodness  of  his  heart  he  sent 
the  following  to  the  trustees  of  that  institution  :  — 

"  An  intimate  acquaintance  with  Mr.  C.  L ,  of  more 

than  twenty  years,  has  resulted,  on  my  part,  in  a  warm 
friendship,  founded  on  his  estimable  character  as  a  man, 
a  writer,  and  an  artist. 

"  I  learn  with  much  pleasure  that  he  is  a  candidate  for 
the  directorship  of  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery,  and  I  most 
sincerely  hope  he  may  be  appointed  to  the  office  ;  since, 
independently  of  my  personal  predilections  for  him,  and 
in  view  of  the  prosperity  of  a  noble  institution  in  which  I 
feel  a  deep  interest,  I  can  truly  say  I  am  acquainted  with 
no  one  who  possesses  in  a  higher  degree  the  various  qual 
ifications  necessary  to  properly  discharge  the  duties  of 
this  important  position.  JOSEPH  HENRY. 

"  SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  March  17, 1871." 
2 


18  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

For  me  to  print  such  a  tribute  from  such  a  man  may  be 
deemed  indelicate  ;  but  it  is  hard  for  me  to  play  the  hypo 
crite,  and  as  I  have  always  tried  to  merit  the  good-will  of 
the  best  of  men,  I  can  only  say  that  such  testimonials 
afford  me  the  most  solid  satisfaction,  and  I  am  not 
ashamed  to  confess  the  fact. 

Not  long  after  Professor  Henry  had  thus  volunteered  to 
second  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Corcoran  (as  expressed  to  me) , 
I  found  that  his  influence  with  his  own  trustees  seemed  to 
have  been  lost ;  and  when  I  saw  that  the  real  power  lay 
with  other  men,  and  that  their  ideas  of  art  were  to  rule 
the  gallery,  I  withdrew  my  claims  as  a  candidate.  Not 
long  afterwards  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  Board  of  Trus 
tees,  when  Professor  Henry  was  called  upon  to  fill  it ;  and 
although  several  members  of  the  board  were  men  of  real 
culture,  they  took  no  special  or  active  interest  in  the  gal 
lery,  and  the  only  member  of  the  board  with  a  national 
reputation  was  Professor  Henry.  And  here  comes  in  a 
rather  remarkable  fact.  When  the  time  arrived  for  regu 
larly  organizing  the  art  gallery,  the  only  member  of  the 
board  who  was  not  notified  to  be  present  on  the  important 
occasion  was  Professor  Henry  ;  and  whether  the  supposed 
forgetfulness  had  its  origin  with  the  active  members  of 
the  board  aforesaid,  is  a  question  which  need  not  now  be 
disturbed,  as  their  own  candidate  was  duly  elected. 

In  June,  1871,  a  note  came  to  me  from  Professor  Henry, 
as  follows  :  — 

"I  write  to  ask  that  you  will  call  at  the  Institution 
as  early  as  you  can  conveniently  come.  I  wish  to  see  you 
in  regard  to  a  literary  matter,  in  which  it  may,  perhaps, 
be  for  your  interest  to  engage. 

"  Truly  your  friend, 

"JOSEPH  HENRY." 


JOSEPH   HENRY.  19 

This  note  was  received  by  me  about  one  hour  after  I 
had  returned  home  from  my  summer  tour  to  the  moun 
tains  and  sea-shore,  and  at  the  particular  time  when  I  was 
undecided  whether  I  should  devote  the  coming  winter  to 
my  pencil  or  my  pen.  I  was  promptly  on  hand,  heard 
from  the  professor  that  he  had  been  asked  by  Arinori 
Mori,  the  Japanese  minister,  to  nominate  some  person  to 
write  a  book  about  the  United  States  for  use  in  Japan  ; 
and  thus  began  my  long  and  very  agreeable  experiences 
with  the  Japanese  government,  which  have  elsewhere  been 
recorded ;  convincing  me,  beyond  all  possible  doubt, 
that  there  is  an  Omnipotent  Hand  directing  all  the  affairs 
of  men.  The  book  here  alluded  to  contained  an  article 
on  scientific  matters  and  as  it  also  had  an  allusion  to  Pro 
fessor  Henry's  discoveries,  I  sent  it  to  him  for  correction, 
when  he  returned  the  following  answer :  — 


SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  Feb.  6, 1872. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  return  you  the  manuscript  of  the 
article  on  science,  after  having  made  some  changes  of  im 
portance  in  order  to  render  it  better  adapted  to  the  use  for 
which  it  is  intended. 

I  have,  as  you  see,  omitted  the  last  paragraph,  which  if 
retained  would  appear  invidious  and,  indeed,  unjust ;  since 
it  refers  to  one  invention  among  the  many  which  have  been 
produced  in  our  country.  I  have,  in  order  to  meet  your 
wishes,  inserted  my  name  in  the  paragraph  above  the  last ; 
which,  I  hope,  will  suffice  for  my  glorification. 

I  think  it  important  that  I  should  see  a  proof  of  the 
article. 

Truly  yours,  etc., 

JOSEPH  HENRY. 


20  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

In  August,  1872,  there  was  a  slight  misunderstanding 
between  Mr.  Mori,  the  Japanese  minister,  and  myself,  and 
as  I  had  been  introduced  to  that  gentleman  by  Pro 
fessor  Henry,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  notify  him  of  what 
had  happened,  —  he  was  then  at  the  sea-shore,  —  and  here 
is  the  reply  he  sent  me  :  — 

EYE  BEACH,  X.  H.,  Sept.  11, 1872. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  am  surprised  and  grieved  to  learn 
what  you  have  informed  me  in  regard  to  the  Japan  affairs. 
I  do  not  see  how  Mr.  Mori  can  do  without  you.  He  has 
no  aptitude  for  business,  and  will  fall  a  prey  to  any  plau 
sible  fellow  who  has  the  opportunity  to  gain  his  confidence. 

Indeed,  I  have  come  to  regard  the  attempt  of  the  Jap 
anese  to  become  suddenly  civilized,  and  to  change  at  once 
all  their  customs,  with  considerable  solicitude.  They  are 
certainly  undergoing  a  great  change,  but  what  the  result 
will  be  is  not  very  clear.  They  cannot,  on  the  doctrine  of 
probabilities,  choose  in  every  case  the  right  course,  since 
there  is  but  one  right  among  many  wrong  ways.  I  think 
the  proposition  to  introduce  at  once  into  the  country  our 
system  of  common  schools  is  one  of  doubtful  propriety, 
and  that  the  person  they  have  chosen  for  the  direction  of 
the  system  is  not  quite  as  prudent  as  he  might  be.  The 
remarks  he  made  in  regard  to  the  acts  of  our  government 
with  reference  to  the  Japanese  were  received  with  disfavor 
at  the  educational  convention  at  Boston.  What  they 
want  first  is  a  knowledge  of  arts  and  sciences,  and  after 
that  a  gradual  enlightenment  of  the  people  generally.  As 
I  have  said  elsewhere,  the  change  must  work  downward, 
not  upward.  Another  matter  in  which  I  think  they  have 
been  badly  advised  is  that  of  the  introduction  of  paper 
money,  which,  1  am  sure,  will  lead  to  evils  of  the  gravest 
character. 


JOSEPH   HENRY.  21 

I  participate  in  your  feelings  regarding  Mr.  Mori.  He 
stands  on  a  dangerous  elevation.  If  all  the  plans  which 
he  advocates  and"  attempts  to  reduce  to  practice  do  not 
produce  the  anticipated  results,  he  will  be  denounced. 
Censure  is  much  more  freely  bestowed  than  praise  ;  a  sin 
gle  failure  outweighs  many  successes. 

I  fear  our  friend,  General  Capron,  will  find  himself  in  a 
ditlk'iilt  position.  It  will  be  no  easy  matter  for  him  to 
retain  the  full  confidence  of  the  Japanese  government ; 
miracles  will  be  expected  where  ordinary  results  are  ob 
tained  with  difficulty.  The  Japanese,  however,  cannot  go 
back.  They  must  and  will  go  on,  though  it  can  scarcely 
be  expected,  from  the  history  of  the  world,  that  their 
course  will  be  a  continuously  smooth  one  ;  or  that  the  posi 
tion  of  the  leaders,  such  as  that  of  our  friend  Mori,  will  be 
free  from  danger. 

I  know  you  have  been  of  great  service  to  Mr.  Mori,  and 
have  fully  sustained  the  character  I  gave  you  when  I  rec 
ommended  you  for  the  place.  It  is  evident  that  he  is 
acting  under  some  improper  influence,  and  it  is  a  very  un 
fortunate  condition. 

Very  truly  your  friend,  etc., 

JOSEPH  HENRY. 

P.  S.  Your  letter  of  the  8th  came  to  hand  in  the  mail 
of  last  night  and  I  add  this  postscript  to  thank  you  for 
the  copies  of  the  "  Athenreum  "  containing  the  account  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  British  Association.  I  have  read 
with  much  interest  the  address  of  Dr.  Carpenter,  and  fully 
subscribe  to  all  the  propositions  he  has  advanced  In  re 
gard  to  the  philosophy  of  science,  there  is  at  the  present 
time  much  indefini-teness  of  conception  which  the  address 
of  the  doctor  will  tend  to  clear  up.  I  shall  write  to  thank 


22  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

him  for  the  service  which  he  has  rendered,  through  it,  to 
the  cause  of  truth. 

I  expected  that  he  would  include  in  the  topics  to  be  dis 
cussed  that  of  spiritualism,  and  allude  to  the  experiments 
relative  to  it  by  Mr.  Crooks,  since  he  has  written  against 
the  delusions  of  this  remarkable  superstition  of  later  days. 
I  am  pleased  to  learn  that  you  have  made  the  acquaint 
ance  of  my  friend  Captain  Keeney,  whom  I  regard  as  a 
representative  man  of  the  very  best  class  of  a  New 
England  order.  We  leave  here  on  Thursday  morning  to 
embark  at  Newport  on  the  captain's  steamer  for  New 
York  ;  we  shall  be  several  days  on  the  way  in  order  to  give 
Sir  Frederick  Arrow,  the  head  of  the  Trinity  House,  Lon 
don,  —  who  has  come-with  two  associates,  to  study  our  fog 
signal  system,  —  an  opportunity  to  examine  our  light 
houses.  Shall  see  you  as  soon  as  1  return  to  Washing 
ton,  on  the  Japan  business. 

J.  II. 


And  here  is  another  letter  which  will  explain  itself,  and 
proves  what  a  devoted  friend  I  had  in  the  professor :  — 

SMITHSONIAN  INSTITUTION,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
April  3,  1874. 

Dear  Sir, — I  desire  to  introduce  to  your  personal  ac 
quaintance  my  friend  Mr.  Charles  Lamnan.  With  his 
position  as  an  author  you  are  already  familiar,  but  as  he  is 
also  an  artist  and  now  devoted  to  that  profession,  he  de 
sires  to  confer  with  you  on  the  Art  Commission  to  be 
established  by  Congress. 

As  it  is  advisable  that  the  members  of  said  commission 
should  be  selected  from  different  parts  of  the  country  and 
not  from  one  city,  I  would,  through  your  instrumentality, 


JOSEPH   HENRY.  23 

suggest  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Lanman  as  the  represent 
ative  of  Washington,  where  he  resides. 

By  way  of  supporting  my  nomination,  I  beg  leave  to  lay 
before  you  a  set  of  credentials  in  his  behalf,  prepared  for 
use  in  another  quarter  :  by  two  ex-presidents  of  the  New 
York  Academy  of  Design,  Professor  S.  F.  B.  Morse 
and  Daniel  Iluntington  ;  by  William  C.  Bryant,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  New  York  Museum  of  Art;  by  James 
Brooks,  for  whose  Journal  Mr.  Lanman  was  formerly  a 
writer  upon  Art ;  by  Professor  Samuel  Tyler,  who  is  ac 
quainted  with  the  art  affairs  of  Washington;  and  by  your 
obedient  servant.  The  joint  resolution  submitted  by  Mr. 
Cox  mentions  three  persons,  all  residing  in  New  York. 

Should  you  or  other  members  of  the  Library  Committee 
desire  to  see  some  of  Mr.  Lanman's  productions,  I  am  cer 
tain  that  he  would  gladly  arrange  to  have  }7ou  visit  his 
house  and  inspect  his  pictures  and  valuable  art  library. 

My  reason  for  appealing  to  you  in  the  matter  is  that  I 
am  sure  you  feel  an  interest  in  seeing  the  metropolis  beau 
tified,  and  from  your  long  experience  can  act  understand- 
iugly  in  advising  the  committee. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  very  truly  yours, 

JOSEPH  HENRY. 
HON.  J.  A.  GAIIFIELD. 

During  the  summer  of  1875  it  was  my  privilege  to 
spend  a  few  weeks  in  the  daily  companionship  of  Profes 
sor  Henry  at  Block  Island.  Our  several  families  were 
with  us,  and  altogether  we  certainly  had  a  ''glorious 
time,"  housed  in  the  comfortable  and  elegant  Ocean 
View  Hotel.  His  business  was  to  try  a  series  of  experi 
ments  with  the  fog-horns,  which  ended  in  his  demolishing 
a  pet  theory  of  Professor  Tyudall ;  and  rny  occupation 


24  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

was  to  study  and  depict  on  canvas  the  beauties  of  the  surf, 
along  the  shores  of  the  island.  On  several  occasions  I 
waited  upon  him  while  trying  his  experiments,  and  was 
amazed  to  see,  in  view  of  his  advanced  age,  with  what 
persevering  industry,  supported  by  rare  excitement,  he 
followed  up  his  investigations.  But  there  wTas  one  incident 
which  happened  to  us  which  made  me  well-nigh  resolve 
that  I  would  never  again  drive  a  span  of  horses,  or  a  single 
one,  in  a  carriage  or  wagon,  when  my  companion  ivas  a 
tjreat  man.  One  morning,  when  taking  the  professor  to 
the  new  lighthouse,  where  he  was  trying  his  experiments 
on  the  philosophy  of  sound,  the  traces  of  the  harness  be 
came  unfastened  as  we  were  going  down  a  hill,  and  nothing 
but  the  hand  of  Providence  prevented  him,  if  not  both  of 
us,  from  being  killed.  The  accident  reminded  me  of  the 
more  serious  one  which  happened  to  Daniel  Webster  and 
myself  near  Plymouth  in  1852  ;  and  what  added  to  the 
marvel  of  this  escape  was  the  fact  that  I  was  driving  a 
very  spirited  and  almost  unbroken  colt. 

To  have  been  with  Professor  Henry,  when  he  was  per 
forming  his  important  experiments  on  sound,  was  a  cir 
cumstance  to  be  remembered  with  gratitude,  but  it  was  a 
greater  privilege  to  be  with  him  on  several  occasions  at 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  1876.  His  comments  upon 
the  accumulated  wonders  of  the  place  were  full  of  interest 
and  highly  instructive,  nor  can  I  ever  forget  the  character 
of  our  final  meeting  there,  on  the  last  day  of  my  attend 
ance.  Having  been  told  that  he  had  returned  to  A\rash- 
ington,  he  was  the  last  man  that  I  expected  to  see,  but  my 
surprise  was  greatly  enhanced  by  finding  him  more  than 
half  asleep,  as  he  sat  alone  on  one  of  the  benches  in  a 
quiet  nook  of  the  Great  Building.  He  was  worn  out  with 
fatigue,  but  being  aware  of  his  self-reliant  determination 


JOSEPH   HENRY.  25 

in  going  and  coming  when  he  pleased,  I  made  no  proffer  of 
assistance,  which  I  knew  would  be  rejected.  The  throngs 
of  people  who  passed  along  paid  no  more  attention  to 
him  than  they  would  to  any  respectable  gentleman,  for, 
though  familiar  with  his  name  and  fame,  they  did  not  rec 
ognize  his  person ;  and  yet,  there  sat  the  man,  sick,  alone 
and  unknown  to  the  crowd  around  him,  from  whose  brain 
had  sprung  the  secret  of  the  telegraph,  and  without  whose 
various  discoveries  the  great  Centennial  Exhibition,  in 
manv  particulars,  would  not  have  been  possible. 

One  of  the  most  agreeable  parties  that  I  ever  attended 
in  Washington  was  given  by  Commodore  Charles  \Vilkes 
many  years  ago.  It  was  a  most  elegant  affair  in  all  its 
appointments,  and  many  of  the  guests  were  famous  for 
their  high  positions  or  their  intellectual  attainments.  Pro 
fessor  Henry  and  his  wife  were  among  them.  Thirty 
years  afterwards,  the  commodore,  after  reflecting  great 
honor  upon  his  country,  died,  leaving  his  family  poor. 
One  of  his  daughters  found  it  necessary  to  try  and  obtain 
an  office,  whereby  she  could  support  herself.  She  made 
many  trials  and  did  not  succeed.  In  her  extremity  «he 
went  to  Prof essor  Henry  and  narrated  all  her  trials.  After 
listening  to  her  story,  he  said  that  he  appreciated  her  noble 
spirit  in  seeking  the  irksome  employment  of  a  clerk,  and 
added,  "Is  it  possible  that  a  daughter  of  Charles  Wilkes 
should  be  compelled  to  ask  twice  for  a  petty  clerkship  ?  " 
when  the  dear  old  man's  feelings  overwhelmed  him,  and 
he  wept  like  a  very  child.  It  was  not  long  after  that  in 
terview  before  the  lady  had  obtained  the  position  she 
desired. 

During  the  year  1877  the  friends  of  the  professor  fre 
quently  suggested  that  he  needed  and  fully  deserved  some 
respite  from  his  public  labors.  On  one  occasion  his  fain- 


26  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

ily  physician,  Dr.  Graf  ton  Tyler,  intimated  that  he  might 
at  least  give  up  his  connection  with  the  Lighthouse  Board, 
and  his  sudden  reply  was,  "  Not  that,  not  that ;  some  other 
duties,  perhaps,  but  not  that."  His  interest  in  scientific 
studies  was  unabated,  but  he  did  not  work  with  his  for 
mer  vigor  ;  and  as  of  old,  he  went  occasionally  into  society, 
where  he  was  as  dignified  and  agreeable  as  he  had  always 
been.  After  entering  upon  his  eightieth  year,  he  began  to 
discuss  with  his  intimate  friends  the  propriety  of  resign 
ing  the  position  of  president  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences, 
at  the  annual  meeting  in  April,  1878  ;  and  so,  when  the 
Academy  met,  he  did  submit  his  resignation,  but,  in  terms 
that  were  highly  complimentary,  it  was  not  accepted.  And 
more  than  that,  the  eminent  men  composing  the  Academy 
made  known  the  fact  that  a  fund  of  forty  thousand  dollars 
had  been  raised,  and  was  already  in  safe-keeping  for  the 
benefit  of  the  grand  old  president  and  his  family.  It  was 
indeed  a  worthy  tribute  of  affection  and  admiration,  hon 
orable  both  to  those  who  gave  and  to  him  who  was  the 
recipient,  —  one  of  those  "  scientific"  performances  which 
everybody  could  appreciate,  and  which  will  long  be  re 
membered  with  pride  by  the  scholars  of  the  land. 

For  many  weeks  before  his  death  he  was  quite  ill  and 
suffered  great  pain,  but  he  was  at  all  times  gentle  and  pa 
tient  to  the  last  degree,  proving  himself  to  be  a  noble 
Christian  ;  and  he  retained  his  mental  powers  in  full  vigor 
until  the  end  of  life.  His  last  words  were,  "  Which  way 
comes  the  wind?  "  and  with  his  mind  still  echoing  the  spirit 
of  inquiry  into  the  realms  of  nature,  he  passed  away  in 
perfect  peace.  His  death,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1878, 
closed  a  life  of  honor  and  of  usefulness  which  will  be 
remembered  as  one  of  the  leading  landmarks  of  the 
century. 


""HENRY  w.  LONG  FELLOW.  27 

His  funeral  took  place  on  the  IGth  of  April,  at  the  New 
York  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  and  at  the  Oak  Hill 
Cemetery  in  Washington,  attended  by  large  numbers  of 
friends  and  the  most  eminent  men  connected  with  the 
government.  The  leading  prayer  was  offered  by  his  old 
friend,  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  and  the  sermon  delivered  by 
Kev.  S.  S.  Mitchell,  both  of  them  being  all  that  could  have 
been  desired.  It  was  my  sad  privilege,  under  instructions 
from  his  widow  and  children,  to  make  all  the  arrangements 
for  purchasing  the  beautiful  ground  where  now  repose  the 
ashes  of  the  great  man,  who  had  been  my  friend  for  thirty 
years.  On  the  l(>th  of  January,  1879,  memorial  services 
were  held  in  the  National  Capitol  by  the  two  Houses  of 
Congress,  Chief  Justice  Waite  presiding,  at  which  were 
present  the  Supreme  Court,  the  President  and  Cabinet,  on 
which  occasion  eloquent  addresses  were  made  by  not  less 
than  eight  men  of  distinction  in  public  affairs.  Congress 
also  made  an  appropriation  for  the  erection  of  a  bronze 
statue  in  the  grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
which  was  duly  finished,  and  also  ordered  a  memorial 
volume  to  be  prepared  and  published,  which  was  accom 
plished  in  1880. 


HENRY  W.    LONGFELLOW. 

I  FIRST  met  this  eminent  poet  and  scholar  when  he  was 
on  a  visit  to  New  York,  and  received  from  Park  Benjamin 
the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars  for  the  poem  entitled  The 
Wreck  of  the  Hesperus,  the  proof  of  which  it  was  my 
privilege  to  read.  That  fact,  combined  with  his  kindly 
treatment  of  me,  made  a  pleasurable  impression  on  my 
mind  which  nothing  has  ever  been  able  to  dampen,  except 
ing  the  knowledge  that  he  received  such  a  miserable 


28  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

pittance    for  one  of   the  most  admirable  ballads  in  the 
language. 

In  1842,  the  men  of  my  literary  idolatry  were  Hawthorne 
(then  without  fame),  Dana,  and  Longfellow;  and  when 
my  maiden  volume,  the  "  Essays  for  Summer  Hours," 
made  its  appearance,  I  forwarded  a  copy  to  each  of  them, 
the  two  former  of  whom  sent  me  their  acknowledgments 
tit  once,  but  it  was  twenty -seven  years  before  I  received 
a  reply  from  Mr.  Longfellow.  When,  in  18G9,  I  sent  him 
a  copy  of  my  "Dictionary  of  Congress,"  for  the  reason 
that  it  contained  a  notice  of  his  father,  I  improved  the 
occasion  to  remind  him  of  my  former  communication,  and 
then  he  wrote  me  the  following  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  Xmas,  18G9. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your 
letter  and  your  "  Dictionary  of  Congress,"  and  hasten  to 
thank  you  for  this  mark  of  your  remembrance  and  re 
gard. 

The  volume  is  very  valuable  and  very  interesting,  not 
withstanding  the  modest  disclaimer  in  your  letter.  The 
proverb  says,  "No  bishop  should  speak  evil  of  his 
reliques."  Certainly  you  should  not  of  yours.  I  am 
sure  to  find  here  information  which  I  could  find  nowliere 
else. 

I  remember,  perfectly  well,  receiving  your  former  vol 
ume,  many,  many  years  ago.  I  remember,  equally  well, 
writing  to  you  at  the  time  in  acknowledgment  of  your  kind 
ness  ;  and  1  arn  very  sorry  to  learn  that  my  letter  never 
reached  you.  We  must  set  it  down  to  one  of  those  mis 
haps  which  sometimes  thwart  the  best  concerted  schemes 
and  the  most  punctilious  correspondents.  We  shall  never 
know  how  much  mischief  has  been  done  in  the  world  by 


HENltY   W.    LONGFELLOW.  29 

the  miscarriage  of  letters.  Thanking  you  once  more,  and 
wishing  you  all  the  good  wishes  of  the  season,  I  remain, 
my  dear  sir, 

Yours  truly, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

In  November,  1871,  while  exhibiting  a  portfolio  of  my 
sketches  in  oil  to  a  nephew  of  the  poet,  W.  P.  P.  Long 
fellow,  we  stumbled  upon  a  view  of  Norman's  Woe,  near 
Cape  Ann,  when  he  remarked,  "  My  uncle  should  see  that 
picture,  for  I  know  it  would  greatly  interest  him."  On  the 
next  day,  accordingly,  I  packed  up  the  picture,  and  with 
another  (a  view  on  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  home 
of  Evangeline),  sent  it  off  to  Mr.  Longfellow,  accom 
panied  by  a  note  of  explanation  in  which  I  recalled  the 
fact  of  our  meeting  many  years  before  at  the  house  of 
Park  Benjamin,  in  New  York,  who  was  the  first  to  pub 
lish  the  poem  about  the  "•  Hesperus,"  and  who  paid  for  it 
the  pittance  of  twenty-five  dollars.  The  letter  which  Mr. 
Longfellow  sent  me  in  return,  worth  more  than  a  thousand 
sketches,  was  as  follows  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  Xov.  24, 1871. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Last  night  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiv 
ing  your  friendly  letter  and  the  beautiful  pictures  that 
came  with  it ;  and  I  thank  you  cordially  for  the  welcome 
gift  and  the  kind  remembrance  that  prompted  it.  They 
are  both  very  interesting  to  me,  particularly  the  Reef  of 
Norman's  Woe.  What  you  say  of  the  ballad  is  also  very 
gratifying,  and  induces  me  to  send  you  in  return  a  bit  of 
autobiography. 

Looking  over  a  journal  for  1839,  a  few  days  ago,  I 
found  the  following  entries  :  — 


30  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

''December  17.  —  News  of  shipwrecks  ;  horrible  on  the 
coast.  Forty  bodies  washed  ashore  near  Gloucester  ;  one 
woman  lashed  to  a  piece  of  wreck.  There  is  a  reef  called 
Norman's  Woe,  where  many  of  these  took  place.  Among 
others  the  schooner  '  Hesperus  ' ;  also  the  '  Seaflower,'  on 
Black  Rock.  I  will  write  a  ballad  on  this. 

"  December  30. — Wrote  last  evening  a  notice  of  All- 
ston's  Poems,  after  which  sat  till  one  o'clock  by  the  fire 
smoking,  when  suddenly  it  came  into  my  mind  to  write 
the  ballad  of  the  schooner  '  Hesperus,'  which  I  accord 
ingly  did.  Then  went  to  bed,  but  could  not  sleep.  New 
thoughts  were  running  in  my  mind,  and  I  got  up  to  add 
them  to  the  ballad.  It  was  three  by  the  clock." 

All  of  this  is  of  no  importance  but  to  myself.  How 
ever,  I  like  sometimes  to  recall  the  circumstances  under 
which  a  poem  was  written  ;  and  as  you  express  a  liking 
for  this  one,  it  may  perhaps  interest  you  to  know  why  and 
when  and  how  it  came  into  existence.  I  had  quite  for 
gotten  about  its  first  publication  ;  but  I  find  a  letter  from 
Park  Benjamin,  dated  Jan.  7,  1840,  beginning  (you  will 
recognize  his  style)  as  follows  :  — 

"Your  ballad,  The  Wreck  of  the  Hesperus,  is  grand. 
Inclosed  are  twenty-five  dollars  (the  sum  you  mentioned) 
for  it,  paid  by  the  proprietors  of  The  New  York  World, 
in  which  glorious  paper  it  will  resplendently  coruscate  on 
Saturday  next." 

Pardon  this  gossip,  and  believe  me,  with  renewed  thanks, 
Yours  faithfully, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

By  way  of  prolonging  the  delightful  "gossip"  just 
given  in  Mr.  Longfellow's  letter,  I  submit  the  following, 
obtained  from  him  during  a  personal  interview.  Among 


HENRY   W.    LONGFELLOW.  31 

the  considerations  which  induced  him  to  write  about  the 
"Hesperus"  was  the  " indescribably  sad"  name  of  Nor 
man  's  Woe,  which  the  newspapers  mentioned  as  the  scene 
of  the  disaster.  With  regard  to  his  poem  of  Excelsior, 
it  was  suggested  to  the  poet  by  the  lofty  sentiments  con 
tained  in  a  letter  which  he  had  received  from  his  friend 
Charles  Sumner.  As  his  ideas  developed,  he  resolved  to 
display  in  a  series  of  pictures  the  life  of  a  man  of  gen 
ius,  resisting  all  temptations,  and  casting  aside  all  fears, 
heedless  of  all  warnings  of  danger,  pressing  onward  in  the 
great  purpose  of  his  life.  As  the  poet  wrote  to  his  friend 
C.  K.  Tuckerman,  "•  He  passes  through  the  Alpine  village, 
through  the  rough,  cold  paths  of  the  world,  where  the 
peasants  cannot  understand  him,  and  where  his  watch 
word  is  an  'unknown  tongue.'  He  disregards  the  hap 
piness  of  domestic  peace  and  sees  the  glacier,  this  fate, 
before  him.  He  disregards  the  warning  of  the  old  man's 
wisdom  and  the  fascinations  of  woman's  love.  He 
answers  to  all,  '  Higher  yet ! '  The  monks  of  St.  Ber 
nard  are  the  representatives  of  religious  forms  and  cere 
monies,  and  with  their  oft-repeated  prayer  mingles  the 
sound  of  his  voice,  telling  them  there  is  something  higher 
than  forms  and  ceremonies.  Filled  with  these  aspirations, 
he  perishes  without  having  reached  the  perfection  he 
longed  for ;  and  the  voice  heard  in  the  air  is  the  promise 
of  immortality  and  progress  ever  upward.  You  will  per 
ceive  that  '  excelsior,'  an  adjective  of  the  comparative 
degree,  is  used  adverbially ;  a  use  justified  by  the  best 
Latin  writers." 

Unlike  the  productions  just  mentioned,  The  Psalm  of 
Life  was  the  spontaneous  outgrowth  of  his  mind  ;  and  it 
is  a  singular  fact  that  while  he  at  first  hesitated  to  give  it 
to  the  public,  when  published,  it  immediately  became  one 


32  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

of  the  most  popular  of  all  his  poems.  It  was  this  pro 
duction,  moreover,  which  induced  an  Englishman,  when 
the  poet  was  in  England,  to  accost  him  when  about  to 
enter  his  carriage,  and  to  ask  the  privilege  of  shaking  by 
the  hand  the  man  who  had  afforded  him  so  much  pleas 
ure  ;  and  it  should  put  all  American  readers  to  the  blush 
to  learn  that  while  the  two  poems  entitled  The  Psalm  of 
Life  and  the  Reaper  Death  were  both  published  in  the 
old  "  Knickerbocker"  magazine,  the  editor  thereof  did  not 
think  their  author  worthy  of  any  remuneration  ;  but  the 
origin  of  Evangeline  is  also  very  interesting,  and  is  here 
given  in  the  poet's  own  words  :  — 

"Hawthorne  came  to  dine  with  me  one  day,  and 
brought  a  friend  with  him  from  Salem.  While  at  the  din 
ner,  the  friend  said  to  me,  '  I  have  been  trying  to  get 
Hawthorne  to  write  a  story  about  the  banishment  of  the 
Acadians,  founded  upon  the  life  of  a  young  girl,  who  was 
then  separated  from  her  lover,  spent  the  balance  of  her 
life  searching  for  him,  and  when  both  were  old,  found  him 
dying  in  a  hospital.'  I  caught  the  thought  at  once,  that 
it  would  make  a  striking  picture  if  put  in  verse,  and  said, 
'  Hawthorne,  give  it  to  me  for  a  poem,  and  promise  me 
that  you  will  not  write  about  it  until  I  have  written  the 
poem.'  Hawthorne  said  there  was  nothing  in  it  for  a 
story,  and  immediately  assented  to  my  request,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  I  should  use  his  friend's  story  for  verse  when 
ever  it  suited  me  to  do  so." 

In  July,  1872,  after  William  L.  Shoemaker,  of  George 
town,  D.  C.,  had  read  to  me  one  of  his  poems,  he 
expressed  a  desire  to  know  what  Mr.  Longfellow  would 
think  of  it,  whereupon  I  volunteered  to  send  it  to  Cam 
bridge,  accompanied  by  a  second  poem,  with  an  explana 
tory  note.  In  due  time  the  following  pleasant  letter  was 
received :  — 


HENRY   W.    LONGFELLOW.  33 

NAHANT,  July  26, 1872. 

Ny  dear  Sir,  —  These  are  both  good  poems  that  you 
send  me,  and  particularly  The  Cardinal  Flower,  which  I 
like  very  much. 

Were  I  to  criticise  it  in  any  way,  I  should  say,  suppress 
the  stanza  beginning  "  No  ritual  pomp  is  here,"  and  the 
one  following,  because  they  remind  the  reader  of  Horace 
Smith's  Hymn  to  the  Flowers,  as  you  will  see,  if  you  read 
the  two  together. 

I  write  you  this  from  the  seaside,  where  your  paintings 
of  "Norman's  Woe  "  and  the  "  Coast  of  Acadia"  adorn 
the  parlor  walls,  with  other  sea  views  by  other  hands. 

Thanking  you  in  advance  for  your  book  on  the  ' '  Japan 
ese  in  America,"  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 
Yours  truly, 

HENRY  "W.  LONGFELLOW. 

In  December,  1872,  I  sent  the  poet  a  small  picture  exe 
cuted  by  a  Japanese  youth,  which  he  acknowledged  with 
great  kindness,  wishing  the  young  artist  all  prosperity. 

During  the  summer  of  1873,  while  spending  a  few 
weeks  at  Indian  Hill,  in  Massachusetts,  the  delightful 
residence  of  Ben  :  Peiiey  Poore,  it  was  again  my  privilege 
to  meet  Mr.  Longfellow.  He  had  come  down  from 
Nahant,  with  his  friend  Charles  Sunnier,  for  the  purpose 
of  visiting,  for  the  first  time,  the  Longfellow  homestead 
in  Newbury.  After  that  visit  he  came  by  invitation,  with 
the  senator,  to  Indian  Hill,  where  they  enjoyed  an  early 
dinner  and  a  bit  of  old  wine,  after  which  Mr.  Poore  took 
us  all  in  his  carriage  on  a  visit  to  the  poet,  John  G.  AVhit- 
tier,  at  Amesbury.  The  day  was  charming,  the  route  we 
followed  was  down  the  Merrimack  and  very  lovely,  and 
the  conversation  of  the  lions  was  of  course  delightful. 
3 


34  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

We  found  Mr.  Whittier  at  home,  and  it  was  not  only  a 
great  treat  to  see  him  there,  but  a  noted  event  to  meet 
socially  and  under  one  roof  three  such  men  as  Whittier, 
Sumner,  and  Longfellow.  The  deportment  of  the  two 
poets  was,  to  me,  most  captivating.  The  host,  in  his 
simple  dress,  was  as  shy  as  a  school-boy  while  Mr.  Long 
fellow,  with  his  white  and  flowing  hair,  and  jolly  laughter, 
reminded  me  of  one  of  his  own  vikings  ;  and  when  Mr. 
Whittier  brought  out  and  exhibited  to  us  an  anti-slavery 
document  which  he  had  signed  forty  years  before,  I  could 
not  help  recalling  some  of  the  splendid  things  which  that 
trio  of  great  men  had  written  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 
The  drive  to  Newburyport,  whence  Mr.  Sumner  and  Mr. 
Longfellow  were  to  return  to  Nahant,  was  not  less 
delightful  than  had  been  the  preceding  one ;  and  the 
kindly  words  which  were  spoken  of  Mr.  Whittier  proved 
that  he  was  highly  honored  and  loved  by  his  noted  friends, 
as  he  is  by  the  world  at  large.  Before  parting  from  Mr 
Longfellow,  he  took  me  one  side  and  spoke  with  great 
interest  of  the  old  homestead  he  had  that  morning  visited, 
and  expressed  a  wish  that  I  should  make  a  sketch  of  it 
for  him,  as  it  was  then  two  hundred  years  old  and  rapidly 
going  to  decay.  On  the  following  morning  I  went  to  the 
spot  and  complied  with  his  request ;  a  few  weeks  after 
ward  I  sent  him  a  finished  picture  of  the  house,  not  for 
getting  the  well-sweep  and  the  old  stone  horse-block,  in 
which  he  felt  a  special  interest ;  and  he  acknowledged  the 
receipt  of  the  picture  in  these  words  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  Oct.  18, 1873. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your 
very  friendly  note,  and  the  picture  of  the  old  homestead 
at  Newbury,  for  both  of  which  I  pray  you  to  accept  my 


HENRY   W.    LONGFELLOW.  35 

most  cordial  thanks.  Be  assured  that  I  value  your  gift 
highly,  and  appreciate  the  kindness  which  prompted  it, 
and  the  trouble  you  took  in  making  the  portraits  of  the 
old  house  and  tree.  They  are  very  exact,  and  will  always 
remind  me  of  that  pleasant  summer  day  and  Mr.  Poore's 
chateau  and  his  charming  family  and  yours.  If  things 
could  ever  be  done  twice  over  in  this  world,  which  they 
cannot,  I  should  like  to  live  that  day  over  again. 

With  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  Lanman,  not  forgetting  a 
word  and  a  kiss  to  your  little  Japanese  ward  (time  Tsuda), 
I  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours  truly, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

In  the  letter  which  I  sent  to  the  poet  with  my  picture, 
after  giving  him  certain  particular,  I  added  the  follow, 
ing  :  — 

"When  the  builders  of  that  house  were  designing  its 
fair  proportions,  little  did  they  think  that  it  would  be  the 
destiny  of  one  of  their  posterity  to  make  their  family 
name  one  of  rare  honor  throughout  the  world. 

tk  With  regard  to  that  visit  to  the  home  of  Whittier,  it 
will  '  live'  in  my  memory  with  the  Voices  of  the  Niyht,  the 
Bridal  of  Pennacook*  and  a  certain  clarion  voice  which  has 
often  been  heard  in  the  Senate.  To  have  seen  three  intel 
lectual  giants,  with  their  armor  off,  under  one  roof,  as  I 
did  at  Amesbury,  was  never  equalled  in  my  experience 
excepting  once,  and  that  was  when  I  saw  Webster,  Irving, 
Mini  Bryant  dining  together  in  New  York,  ever  so  many 
years  ago." 

One  of  the  most  charming  traits  in  Mr.  Longfellow's 
character  was  his  love  for  children  ;  and  the  child  of  the 
Orient,  mentioned  in  his  letter,  whom  he  met  at  Indian 
Hill,  will  never  forget  the  many  pleasant  things  he  said  to 


36  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

her  as  he  held  her  on  his  lap  and  played  with  her  long 
black  hair.  And  when,  a  few  years  afterwards,  he  was 
informed  that  his  little  friend  was  a  great  admirer  of  his 
writings,  and  could  memorize  a  number  of  his  poems,  he 
probably  became  a  more  devoted  child-lover  than  before. 
Remembering,  with  rare  pleasure,  much  of  the  conver 
sation  which  passed  between  the  poet  and  the  statesman, 
on  the  occasion  alluded  to  above,  the  Good-night  sonnet, 
which  the  former  published  in  1875,  in  allusion  to  his 
departed  friend,  impressed  me  as  wonderfully  beautiful 
and  affecting :  — 

"  River,  that  stealest  with  such  silent  pace 

Around  the  City  of  the  Dead,  where  lies 

A  friend  who  bore  thy  name,  and  whom  these  eyes 
Shall  see  no  more  in  his  accustomed  place, 
Linger  and  fold  him  in  thy  soft  embrace, 

And  say  good-night,  for  now  the  western  skies 

Are  red  with  sunset,  and  gray  mists  arise 
Like  damps  that  gather  on  a  dead  man's  face. 
Good-night!  good-night!  as  we  so  oft  have  said 

Beneath  this  roof  at  midnight  in  the  days 

That  are  no  more  and  shall  no  more  return. 
Thou  hast  but  taken  thy  lamp  and  gone  to  bed; 

I  stay  a  little  longer,  as  one  stays 

To  cover  up  the  embers  that  still  burn." 

When  the  poem  of  Keramos  was  published,  in  Novem 
ber,  1877, 1  had  a  translation  made  into  Japanese,  of  that 
portion  of  it  alluding  to  Japan,  and  forwarded  it  to  the 
poet  with  an  explanation  as  to  how  the  transformation 
had  taken  place :  the  young  gentleman  who  made  the 
translation  having  been  Mr.  Amano  Koziro,  of  the  Japan 
ese  Legation.  The  acknowledgment  sent  me  by  Mr. 
Longfellow  was  as  follows  :  — 


HENRY   W.    LONGFELLOW.  37 

CAMBRIDGE,  Nov.  23, 1877. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  this  morning  had  the  pleasure  of 
receiving  your  letter  and  the  Japanese  version  of  a  por 
tion  of  KeramoS)  which  you  were  kind  enough  to  send  me, 
and  for  which  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  cordial  thanks.  1 
shall  put  it  away  with  The  Psalm  of  Life,  written  in 
Chinese  on  a  fan.  What  I  should  like  now  is  a  literal 
retranslation  of  the  Japanese  into  English. 

In  the  introduction  there  is  a  slight  error  which  is  worth 
correcting.  It  is  the  Poet,  not  the  Potter,  who  takes  the 
aerial  flights,  and  in  imagination  visits  far-off  lands ; 
also,  Keramos  is  rather  potter's  earth  than  earthenware. 
But  the  difference  is  slight  and  hardly  worth  noticing, 
unless  one  wishes  to  be  very  particular, 

You  will  rejoice,  as  I  do,  in  the  complete  vindication  of 
Simmer's  memory  from  the  imputations  so  recklessly  cast 
upon  it.  AVith  great  regard, 

Yours  very  truly, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

AVhen,  in  1870,  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Longfellow's 
publishers  were  preparing  a  new  edition  of  his  works,  to 
be  extensively  illustrated,  I  had  some  correspondence  with 
him,  commenced  by  himself,  in  regard  to  illustrations. 
I  first  suggested  one  of  my  pictures  representing  the 
schooner  "  Hesperus  "  driving  on  the  rocks  of  Norman's 
AVoe  (the  original  picture  of  which  was  already  in  his 
possession),  and  he  replied  as  follows:  "Mr.  Osgood 
tells  me  that  the  pages  containing  The  Wreck  of  the 
Hesperus  are  already  printed ;  but  he  would  like  to  see 
your  illustration  of  "  Daybreak,"  if  convenient  for  you  to 
send  it.  In  due  time,  I  not  only  sent  him  the  original 
picture  of  "  Daybreak,"  but  with  it  a  photograph  from  a 


38  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

picture  of  Fusiyama,  which  I  had  painted  for  the  Japan 
ese  government,  and  which  I  thought  would  suit  a  pas 
sage  in  Keramos.  In  answer  to  my  letter  transmitting  the 
pictures,  I  received  the  following  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  April  18,  1871). 

My  dear  Sir, — How  very  kind  and  generous  you  are 
to  send  me  these  beautiful  pictures !  Be  assured  that  I 
value  them  highly  and  thank  you  very  cordially. 

"Fusiyama"  I  have  sent  at  once  to  Mr.  Osgood.  It 
will  make  an  excellent  illustration  of  Keramos,  and  I 
hope  he  has  not  already  had  anything  engraved  on  the 
subject. 

The  other  painting,  "Daybreak,"  I  shall  take  to  him  as 
soon  as  I  can  go  to  town. 

One  or  both  I  hope  he  will  be  able  to  use.  My  only 
fear  is  that  he  may  be  unwilling  to  use  anything  not  made 
expressly  for  the  work.  Meanwhile,  accept,  I  pray  you, 
my  sincere  acknowledgments  for  your  kindness,  and  be 
lieve  me,  Yours  faithfully, 

HENRY  "NV.  LONGFELLOW. 

In  due  time  the  illustrated  edition  of  Mr.  Longfellow's 
poems  was  fully  published,  and  the  reader  can  imagine 
my  surprise  to  find  on  the  page,  where  my  picture  of  Fusi 
yama  should  have  been,  a  kind  of  tea-tray  concern,  which 
was  pronounced  simply  ridiculous  by  several  well-informed 
gentlemen.  Of  course,  I  reported  my  surprise  and  dis 
appointment  to  the  poet,  and  to  my  note  I  received  the 

following  replies  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  Oct.  !>,  1880. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  This  is  all  a  mystery  to  me.  I  have  been 
away  from  home  for  the  last  three  months,  and  have  not 
known  what  was  done  or  left  undone  in  the  way  of  illus- 


HENRT  W.    LONGFELLOW.  89 

trations.  But  T  am  quite  sure  that  Mr.  Osgood  has  had 
nothing  to  do  with  them,  as  he  left  the  firm  six  months 
ago,  or  more. 

I  will  ask  Mr.  Anthony,  who  has  charge  of  the  illustra 
tions,  how  this  has  happened. 

Yours  faithfully, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

CAMBRIDGE,  Oct.  23, 1880. 

Dear  Mr.  Lanv\an,  —  I  wrote  at  once  to  Mr.  Anthony, 
who  had  sole  charge  of  the  illustrations,  and  enclose  his 
answer :  ' '  Mr.  Lanman's  photograph  was  burnt  in  the 
Devonshire  Street  fire  ;  and  though  I  hunted  the  town,  I 
failed  to  procure  a  duplicate  ;  so  Mr.  Moran  made  the  draw 
ings  from  other  authorities.  Your  pen-and-ink  drawing 
of  the  Castle  at  Ischia  was  also  lost  in  the  same  fire.  But 
for  this,  both  gentlemen  would  have  received  credit."  If 
instead  of  "  hunting  the  town,"  he  had  written  to  you  or 
to  me,  this  mistake  might  have  been  avoided.  Now  there 
is  no  remedy  ;  and  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  no  one  regrets 
it  more  than  I  do.  I  write  in  great  haste,  but  am  as  ever, 
Faithfully  yours, 

HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

The  only  comment  that  I  have  to  make  on  the  above 
is,  that  I  am  surprised  this  Boston  engraver  did  not  go 
to  the  North  Pole  and  do  a  little  hunting  there  for  a  stock 
of  cool  common-sense.  Of  course,  with  my  great  admira 
tion  for  Mr.  Longfellow,  it  would  have  gratified  me  to  see 
one  of  my  pictures  wedded  to  a  fragment  of  his  poetry. 

In  November,  1881,  when  my  work  entitled  "Curious 
Characters  and  Pleasant  Places  "  was  published  in  Edin 
burgh,  because  of  the  fact  that  it  contained  a  chapter  on 


40  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Anticosti,  where  Mr.  Longfellow's  first  American  ancestor 
lost  his  life  (he  who  had  built  the  Newbury  homestead) , 
I  sent  him  a  copy  ;  and  in  my  note  I  asked  him  for  his 
views  on  the  propriety  of  printing  the  private  letters  of 
living  men  without  their  consent.  I  had  noticed  in  Barry 
Cornwall's  "Autobiography"  several  of  Mr.  Longfellow's 
own  letters,  and  as  I  was  then  examining  the  very  inter 
esting  correspondence  of  the  late  Professor  Samuel  Tyler, 
with  a  view  to  publication,  I  desired  to  be  fortified  witli 
the  poet's  opinion,  and  the  result  of  my  application  was 
as  follows :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  Dec.  3, 1881. 

Dear  Mr.  Lanman,  — I  was  very  glad  to  get  your  letter 
and  the  copy  of  your  "  Recollections."  It  is  a  handsome 
volume  and  most  inviting  in  appearance.  I  shall  read  it 
with  the  greatest  interest  as  soon  as  I  am  able  to  read 
anything,  but  at  present  I  am  confined  to  my  room  by  ill 
ness,  —  a  trouble  in  the  head  which  prevents  continuous 
attention  to  anything.  I  hope  this  will  soon  pass  away 
and  all  be  right  again. 

The  publication  of  private  letters  of  living  persons  is 
certainly  a  delicate  question.  It  is,  however,  universally 
practised  in  biographies.  One  must  be  guided  by  the 
importance  of  the  letters  themselves.  I  should  omit 
everything  that  could  in  any  way  compromise  the  writer, 
as  I  see  by  your  letter,  you  would.  There  are  letters  that 
do  honor  to  the  writer  and  the  receiver ;  these  certainly 
should  not  be  omitted. 

Meanwhile,  accept  my  sincere  and  cordial  thanks  for 
your  kind  remembrance,  and  believe  me, 

Yours  faithfully, 

HENRY  "VV.  LONGFELLOW, 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  41 

From  the  time  when  the  foregoing  letter  was  written 
with  its  touching  allusion  to  his  illness,  it  became  appar 
ent  to  Mr.  Longfellow's  friends  that  his  health  was  begin 
ning  to  decline ;  and  on  the  24th  of  March  the  start 
ling  information  was  flashed  over  the  telegraphic  wires,  to 
every  corner  of  his  native  land  and  of  Europe,  that  he  had 
died  at  his  home  in  Cambridge,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year 
of  his  age.  To  paraphrase  a  sentiment  from  Homer,  we 
may  say  of  him  that  the  fame  of  his  beauteous  song  shall 
never  be  forgotten. 

The  poet's  father,  Stephen  Longfellow,  was  a  lawyer 
and  statesman  of  superior  abilities  and  influence,  and  the 
former  left  a  son,  Ernest  W.  Longfellow,  who  ranks  high 
as  a  landscape  painter. 

JOSEPH   GALES   AND   WILLIAM   W.  SEATON. 

MY  acquaintance  with  these  noted  men  began  in  1847, 
when  1  published  a  series  of  Canadian  letters  in  their 
journal.  When  I  first  visited  Washington  City  in  1848, 
my  intention  was  to  remain  only  about  a  week,  but  cir 
cumstances  which  I  did  not  wish  to  control  compelled  me 
to  reside  there  permanently,  and  to  become  a  regular  con 
tributor  to  the  National  Intelligencer ;  and  one  of  the  re 
sults  of  my  intimacy  with  its  editors  was  the  following 
paper,  printed  in  the  "  Atlantic  Monthly,"  while  they  were 
still  living. 

The  families  of  Gales  and  Seaton  are,  in  their  origin, 
Scotch  and  English.  The  Seatons  are  of  that  historic  race, 
a  daughter  of  which  (the  fair  and  faithful  Catherine)  is  the 
heroine  of  one  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  romances.  It  was  to 
be  supposed  that  they  whose  lineage  looked  to  such  an  in 
stance  of  devoted  personal  affection  for  the  ancient  line 


42  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

would  not  slacken  in  their  loyalty  when  fresh  calamities 
fell  upon  the  Stuarts  and  again  upset  their  throne.  Ac 
cordingly,  the  Seatons  appear  to  have  clung  to  the  cause 
of  their  exiled  king  with  fidelity.  Henry  Seaton  seems 
to  have  made  himself  especially  obnoxious  to  the  new 
monarch,  by  taking  part  in  those  Jacobite  schemes  of  re 
bellion  which  were  so  long  kept  on  foot  by  the  lieges  and 
gentlemen  of  Scotland  ;  so  that,  when,  towards  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  cause  he  loved  grew  des 
perate,  and  Scotland  itself  anything  but  safe  for  a  large 
body  of  her  most  gallant  men,  he  was  forced,  like  all  oth 
ers  that  scorned  to  submit,  to  fly  beyond  the  seas.  Doing 
so,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  choose  to  take  refuge  in 
a  Britain  beyond  the  ocean,  where  a  brotherly  welcome 
among  his  kindred  awaited  the  political  prescript.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  a  special  sympathy  towards  that 
region  which,  by  its  former  fidelity  to  the  Stuarts,  had 
earned  from  them  the  royal  quartering  of  its  arms  and  the 
title  of  "  The  Ancient  Dominion,"  directed  his  final  choice. 
At  any  rate,  it  was  to  Virginia  that  he  came  ;  settling 
there,  as  a  planter,  first  in  the  county  of  Gloucester,  and 
afterwards  in  that  of  King  William.  From  one  of  his 
descendants  in  a  right  line  sprang  (by  intermarriage  with 
a  lady  of  English  family,  the  Winstons)  William  Winston 
Seaton,  the  editor,  whose  mother  connected  him  with  a 
second  Scotch  family,  the  Henrys,  —  the  mother  of  Pat 
rick  Henry  being  a  Winston.  These  last  had  come,  some 
three  generations  before,  from  the  old  seat  of  that  family 
in  its  knightly  times,  Winston  Hall,  in  Yorkshire,  and  had 
settled  in  the  county  of  Hanover,  where  good  estates  gave 
them  rank  among  the  gentry  ;  while  commanding  stature, 
the  gift  of  an  equally  remarkable  personal  beauty,  a  very 
winning  address,  good  parts,  high  character,  and  the  fre- 


JOSEPH   GALES   AND    WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  43 

quent  possession  among  them  of  a  fine  natural  eloquence, 
gave  them  as  a  race  an  equal  influence  over  the  body  of 
the  people.  In  AVilliam  (popularly  called  Laugaloo)  and 
his  sister  Sarah,  the  mother  of  Patrick  Henry,  these  hered 
itary  qualities  seem  to  have  been  particularly  striking  ;  so 
that,  in  their  day,  it  seemed  a  sort  of  received  opinion  that 
it  was  from  the  maternal  side  that  the  great  orator  derived 
his  extraordinary  powers. 

The  Galeses  are  of  much  more  recent  naturalization 
amongst  us,  — later  by  just  about  a  century  than  that  of 
the  Seatons,  but  alike  in  its  causes.  For  they,  too,  were 
driven  hither  by  governmental  resentment.  Their  founder 
(as  he  may  be  called),  the  elder  Joseph  Gales,  was  one  of 
those  rare  men  who  at  times  spring  up  from  the  body  of 
the  people,  and  by  mere  unassisted  merit,  apart  from  all 
adventitious  circumstances,  make  their  way  to  a  just  dis 
tinction.  Perhaps  no  better  idea  of  him  can  be  given  than 
by  likening  him  to  one,  less  happy  in  his  death,  whom 
science  is  now  everywhere  lamenting,  —  the  late  admirable 
Hugh  Miller.  A  different  career,  rather  than  an  inferior 
character,  made  Joseph  Gales  less  conspicuous.  He  was 
born  in  1761,  at  Eckington,  near  the  English  town  of 
Sheffield.  The  condition  of  his  family  was  above  depend 
ence,  but  not  frugality. 

Be  education  what  else  it  may,  there  is  one  sort  which 
never  fails  to  work  well,  namely,  that  which  a  strong 
capacity,  when  denied  the  usual  artificial  helps,  shapes  out 
to  its  own  advantage.  Such,  with  little  and  poor  assist 
ance,  became  that  of  Joseph  Gales,  obtained  progressively, 
as  best  it  could  be,  in  the  short  intervals  which  the  body 
can  allow  to  be  stolen  between  labor  and  necessary  rest. 
Now  the  writer  is  convinced,  that,  after  this  boy  had 
worked  hard  all  the  day  long,  he  never  would  have  sat 


44  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

down  to  study  half  the  night  through,  if  it  had  not  been  a 
pleasure  to  him.  In  short,  no  sort  of  toil  went  hard  with 
him  ;  for  he  was  a  fine,  manly  youngster,  cheerful  and 
stalwart,  one  who  never  slunk  from  what  he  had  set  about, 
nor  turned  his  back  except  upon  what  was  dishonest.  He 
wrought  lightsomely,  and  even  lustily,  at  his  coarser  pur 
suits  ;  for  in  that  sturdy  household,  to  work  had  long  been 
held  a  duty. 

Thus  improving  himself  at  odd  hours,  until  he  was  fit 
for  the  vocation  of  a  printer,  and  looked  upon  by  the  vil 
lage  as  a  genius,  our  youth  went  to  Manchester,  and 
applied  himself  to  that  art,  not  only  for  itself,  but  as  the 
surest  means  of  further  knowledge.  Of  course  he  became 
a  master  in  the  craft.  At  length,  returning  to  his  own 
town  to  exercise  it,  he  grew,  by  his  industry  and  good  con 
duct,  into  a  condition  to  exercise  it  on  his  own  account, 
and  set  up  a  newspaper,  the  Sheffield  Register. 

Born  of  the  people,  it  was  natural  that  Joseph  Gales 
should  in  his  journal  side  with  the  Reformers,  and  he  did 
so :  but  with  that  unvarying  moderation  which  his  good 
sense  and  probity  of  purpose  taught  him,  and  which  he 
ever  after  through  life  preserved.  He  kept  within  the 
right  limits  of  whatever  doctrine  he  embraced,  and  held  a 
measure  in  all  his  political  principles ;  knowing  that  the 
best,  in  common  with  the  worst,  tend,  by  a  law  of  all  party, 
to  exaggeration  and  extremes.  Beyond  this  temperateness 
of  mind  nothing  could  move  him.  Thus  guarded,  by  a 
rare  equity  of  the  understanding,  from  excess  as  to  meas 
ures,  he  was  equally  guarded  by  a  charity  and  a  gentleness 
of  heart  the  most  exbaustless.  In  a  word,  it  may  safely 
be  said  of  him,  that  amidst  all  the  heats  of  faction,  he 
never  fell  into  violence  ;  amidst  all  the  asperities  of  pub 
lic  life,  never  stooped  to  personalities ;  and  in  all  that  he 


JOSEPH   GALES   AND   WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  45 

wrote,  left  scarcely  an  unwise  and  not  a  single  dishonest 
sentence  behind  him. 

Such  qualities,  though  not  the  most  forward  to  set  them 
selves  forth  to  the  public  attention,  should  surely  bring 
success  to  an  editor.  The  well- judging  were  soon  pleased 
with  the  plain  good  sense,  the  general  intelligence,  the 
modesty,  and  the  invariable  rectitude  of  the  young  man. 
Their  suffrage  gained,  that  of  the  rest  began  to  follow. 
For  in  truth,  there  are  few  things  of  which  the  light  is  less 
to  be  hid  than  that  of  a  good  newspaper.  The  Register, 
by  degrees,  won  a  general  esteem  and  began  to  pros 
per.  And  as,  according  to  the  discovery  of  Malthus, 
prosperity  is  fond  of  pairing,  it  soon  happened  that  our 
printer  went  to  falling  in  love.  Naturally  again,  being  a 
printer,  he,  from  a  regard  for  the  eternal  fitness  of  things, 
fell  in  love  with  an  authoress. 

This  was  Miss  Winifred  Marshall,  a  young  lady  of  the 
town  of  Newark,  who  to  an  agreeable  person,  good  con 
nections,  and  advantages  of  education,  joined  a  literary 
talent  that  had  already  won  no  little  approval.  She  wrote 
verse,  and  published  several  novels  of  the  "  Minerva 
Tress"  order  (such  as  "  Lady  Emma  Melcombe  and  her 
Family,"  "Matilda  Berkley,"  etc.),  of  which  only  the 
names  survive. 

Despite  the  poetic  adage  about  the  course  of  true  love, 
that  of  Joseph  Gales  ran  smooth  ;  Miss  Marshall  accepted 
his  suit  and  they  were  married.  Never  were  husband  and 
wife  better  mated.  They  lived  together  most  happily  and 
long  ;  she  dying,  at  an  advanced  age,  only  two  years  be 
fore  him.  Meantime  she  had,  from  the  first,  brought  him 
some  marriage  portion  beyond  that  which  the  Muses  are 
wont  to  give  with  their  daughters, —  namely,  laurels  and 
bays ;  and  she  bore  him  three  sons  and  five  daughters, 


46  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

near  half  of  whom  the  parents  survived.  Three  (Joseph 
the  younger,  Winifred,  and  Sarah,  now  Mrs.  Seaton)  were 
born  in  England  ;  a  fourth  at  the  town  of  Altona  (near 
Hamburg),  from  which  she  was  named,  and  the  rest  in 
America. 

To  resume  this  story  in  the  order  of  events.  Mr.  Gales 
went  on  with  his  journal,  and  when  it  had  grown  quite 
flourishing,  he  added  to  his  printing-office  the  inviting  ap 
pendage  of  a  bookstore,  which  also  flourished.  In  the 
progress  of  both,  it  became  necessary  that  he  should  em 
ploy  a  clerk.  Among  the  applicants  brought  to  him  by  an 
advertisement  of  what  he  needed,  there  presented  himself 
an  unfriended  youth,  with  whose  intelligence,  modesty, 
and  other  signs  of  the  future  man  within,  he  was  so 
pleased  that  he  at  once  took  him  into  his  employment ; 
at  first,  merely  to  keep  his  accounts,  but  by  degrees, 
for  superior  things,  until,  progressively,  he  (the  youth) 
matured  into  his  assistant  editor,  his  dearest  friend,  and 
finally  his  successor  in  the  journal.  That  }Touth  was  James 
Montgomery,  the  poet. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1786,  Mrs.  Gales  gave  birth,  nt 
Eckington,  their  rural  home,  to  her  first  child,  Joseph,  the 
present  chief  (I860)  of  the  Irtfettigencer*  Happy  at 
home,  the  young  mother  could  as  delightedly  look  without. 
The  business  of  her  husband  throve  apace  ;  nor  less  the 
general  regard  and  esteem  in  which  he  was  personally  held. 
He  grew  continually  in  the  confidence  and  affection  of  his 
fellow-citizens  ;  endearing  himself  especially,  by  his  sober 
counsels  and  his  quiet  charities,  to  all  that  industrious  class 
who  knew  him  as  one  of  their  own,  and  could  look  up 
without  reluctance  to  a  superiority  which  was  only  the  un 
pretending  one  of  goodness  and  sense.  Over  them,  with 
out  seeking  it,  he  gradually  obtained  an  extraordinary 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    WILLIAM    W.    SEATON.  47 

ascendency,  of  which  the  following  is  a  single  instance  : 
Upon  some  occasion  of  wages  or  want  among  the  working 
people  of  Sheffield,  a  great  popular  commotion  had  burst 
out,  attended  by  a  huge  mob  and  riot,  which  the  magis 
tracy  strove  in  vain  to  appease  or  quell.  \Vhen  all  else 
hud  failed,  Mr.  Gales  bethought  him  of  trying  what  he 
could  do.  Driven  into  the  thick  of  the  crowd,  in  an  open 
carriage,  he  suddenly  appeared  amongst  the  rioters,  and, 
by  a  few  plain  words  of  remonstrance,  convinced  them  that 
they  could  only  hurt  themselves  by  overturning  the  laws, 
that  they  should  seek  other  modes  of  redress,  and  mean 
time  had  all  better  go  home.  They  agreed  to  do  so,  but 
with  the  condition  annexed,  that  they  should  first  see  him 
home.  Whereupon,  loosening  the  horses  from  the  carriage, 
they  drew  him,  with  loud  acclamations,  back  to  his  house. 

Such  were  his  prospects  and  position  for  some  seven 
years  after  his  marriage,  when,  of  a  sudden,  without  any 
fault  of  his  own,  he  was  made  answerable  for  a  fact  that 
rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  flee  beyond  the  realm  of 
Great  Britain. 

As  a  friend  to  Reform,  he  had,  in  his  journal,  at  first 
supported  Pitt's  ministry,  which  had  set  out  on  the  same 
principle,  but  which,  when  the  revolutionary  movement  in 
France  threatened  to  overthrow  all  government,  aban 
doned  all  Reform,  as  a  thing  not  then  safe  to  set  about. 
From  this  change  of  views  Mr.  Gales  dissented,  and  still 
advocated  Reform.  So,  again,  as  to  the  French  Revolu 
tion,  not  yet  arrived  at  the  atrocities  which  it  speedily 
reached,  he  saw  no  need  of  making  war  upon  it.  In  its 
outset,  he  had,  along  with  Fox  and  other  Liberals,  ap 
plauded  it ;  for  it  then  professed  little  but  what  Liberals 
wished  to  see  brought  about  in  England.  He  still  thought 
it  good  for  France,  though  not  for  his  own  country. 


48  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Thus,  moderate  as  he  was,  he  was  counted  in  the  opposi 
tion  and  jealously  watched. 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1792,  while  he  was  gone  upon 
a  journey  of  business,  that  a  king's  messenger,  bearing  a 
Secretary  of  State's  warrant  for  the  seizure  of  Mr.  Gale's 
person,  presented  himself  at  his  house.  For  this  proceed 
ing  against  him  the  following  facts  had  given  occasion. 
In  his  office  was  employed  a  printer  named  Richard  Davi- 
son, — a  very  quick,  capable,  useful  man,  and  therefore 
much  trusted, — but  a  little  wild,  withal,  at  once  with 
French  principles  and  religion,  with  conventicles,  and 
those  seditious  clubs  that  were  then  secretly  organized  all 
over  the  island.  This  person  corresponded  with  a  central 
club  in  London,  and  had  been  rash  enough  to  write  them, 
just  then,  an  insurrectionary  letter,  setting  forth  revolu 
tionary  plans,  the  numbers,  the  means  they  could  com 
mand,  the  supplies  of  arms,  etc.,  that  they  were  forming. 
This  sage  epistle  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  gov 
ernment.  The  discreet  Dick  they  might  very  well  have 
hanged  ;  but  that  was  not  worth  while.  From  his  connec 
tion  with  the  Register,  they  supposed  him  to  be  only  the 
agent  and  cover  for  a  deeper  man,  — its  proprietor;  and 
at  the  latter  only,  therefore,  had  they  struck.  Nothing 
saved  him  from  the  blow,  except  the  casual  fact  of  his 
absence  in  another  county,  and  their  being  ignorant  of 
the  route  he  had  taken.  This  his  friends  alone  knew,  and 
where  to  reach  him.  They  did  so,  at  once,  by  a  courier 
secretly  despatched  ;  and  he,  on  learning  what  awaited 
him  at  home,  instead  of  trusting  to  his  innocence,  chose 
rather  to  trust  the  seas  ;  and,  making  his  way  to  the  coast, 
took  the  only  good  security  for  his  freedom,  by  putting  the 
German  Ocean  between  him  and  pursuit.  He  sailed  for 
Amsterdam,  where  arriving,  he  thence  made  his  way  to 


JOSEPH   GALES   AND  WILLIAM  W.    SEATON.  40 

Hamburg,  at  which  city  he  had  decided  that  his  family 
should  join  him.  To  England  he  could  return  only  at  the 
cost  of  a  prosecution  ;  and  though  this  would,  of  necessity, 
end  in  an  acquittal,  it  was  almost  sure  to  be  preceded  by 
imprisonment,  while,  together,  they  would  half  ruin  him. 
It  was  plain,  then,  that  he  must  at  once  do  what  he  had 
long  intended  to  do,  —  go  to  America. 

Accordingly,  he  gave  directions  to  his  family  to  come  to 
him,  and  to  Montgomery  that  he  should  dispose  of  all  his 
effects  and  settle  up  all  his  affairs.  These  offices  that 
devoted  friend  performed  most  faithfully,  remitting  him 
the  proceeds.  The  newspaper  he  himself  bought  and  con 
tinued,  under  the  name  of  the  Sheffield  Iris.  Still  re 
taining  his  affection  for  the  family,  he  passed  into  the 
household  of  what  was  left  of  them,  and  supplied  to  the 
three  sisters  of  the  elder  Joseph  Gales  the  place  of  a 
brother,  and,  wifeless  and  childless,  lived  on  to  a  very  ad 
vanced  age,  content  with  their  society  alone.  The  last  of 
these  dames  died  only  a  few  months  ago. 

At  Hamburg,  whence  they  were  to  take  ship  for  the 
United  States,  the  family  were  detained  all  the  winter  by 
the  delicate  health  of  Mrs.  Gales.  This  delay  her  husband 
put  to  profit,  by  mastering  two  things  likely  to  be  needful 
to  him,  — the  German  tongue  and  the  art  of  short-hand. 
In  the  spring  they  sailed  for  Philadelphia.  Arrived 
there,  he  sought  and  at  once  obtained  employment  as  a 
printer.  It  was  soon  perceived,  not  only  that  he  was  an 
admirable  workman,  but  every  way  a  man  of  unusual 
merit,  and  able  to  turn  his  hand  to  almost  anything.  By 
and  by,  reporters  of  Congressional  debates  being  few  and 
very  indifferent,  his  employer,  Claypole,  said  to  him, 
"  You  seem  able  to  do  everything  that  is  wanted  :  pray, 
could  you  not  do  these  Congressional  reports  for  us 
4 


50  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

better  than  this  drunken  Callender,  who  gives  us  so  much 
trouble?"  Mr.  Gales  replied,  with  his  usual  modesty, 
that  he  did  not  know  what  he  could  do,  but  that  he 
would  try. 

The  next  day  he  attended  the  sitting  of  Congress,  and 
brought  away,  in  time  for  the  compositors,  a  faithful 
transcript  of  such  speeches  as  had  been  made.  Appear 
ing  in  the  next  morning's  paper,  it  of  course  greatly  aston 
ished  everybody.  It  seemed  a  new  era  in  such  things. 
They  had  heard  of  the  like  in  Parliament,  but  had  scarcely 
credited  it.  Claypole  himself  was  the  most  astonished  of 
all.  Seizing  a  copy,  he  ran  around  the  town,  showing  it 
to  all  he  met,  and  still  hardly  comprehending  the  wonder 
which  he  himself  had  instigated.  It  need  hardly  be  said 
that  here  was  something  far  more  profitable  for  Mr.  Gales 
than  type-setting. 

But  to  apply  this  skill,  possessed  by  none  else,  to  the 
exclusive  advantage  of  a  journal  of  his  own,  was  yet  more 
inviting ;  and  the  opportunity  soon  offering  itself,  he 
became  the  purchaser  of  the  Independent  Gazetteer,  a 
paper  already  established.  This  he  conducted  with  suc 
cess  until  the  year  1799,  making  both  reputation  and 
many  friends.  Among  the  warmest  of  these  were  some 
of  the  North  Carolina  members,  and  especially  that  one 
whose  name  has  ever  since  stood  as  a  sort  of  proverb  of 
honesty,  Nathaniel  Macon.  By  the  representations  of 
these  friends,  he  was  led  to  believe  that  their  new  State 
capital,  Raleigh,  where  there  was  only  a  very  decrepit 
specimen  of  journalism,  would  afford  him  at  once  a  surer 
competence  and  a  happier  life  than  Philadelphia.  Coming 
to  this  conclusion,  he  disposed  of  his  newspaper  and 
printing-office,  and  removed  to  Raleigh,  where  he  at 
once  established  the  Register.  Of  his  late  paper,  the 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    WILLIAM    W.    SEATON.  51 

Gazetteer,  we  shall  soon  follow  the  fortunes  to  Washing 
ton,  where  it  became  the  Intelligencer;  meantime  we 
must  finish  what  is  left  to  tell  of  his  own. 

At  Raleigh  he  arrived  under  auspices  which  gave  him 
not  only  a  reputation,  but  friends,  to  set  out  with.  Both 
he  soon  confirmed  and  augmented.  By  the  constant  merit 
of  his  journal,  its  sober  sense,  its  moderation  and  its  in- 
tegritv,  he  won  and  invariably  maintained  the  confidence 
of  all  on  that  side  of  politics  with  which  he  concurred 
(the  old  Republican),  and  scarcely  less  conciliated  the 
respect  of  his  opponents.  He  quickly  obtained,  for  his 
skill,  and  not  merely  as  a  partisan  reward,  the  public 
printing  of  his  State,  and  retained  it  until,  reaching  the 
ordinary  limit  of  human  life,  he  withdrew  from  the  press. 
In  the  just  and  kindly  old  Commonwealth  which  he  so  long 
served,  it  would  have  been  hard  for  any  party,  no  matter 
how  much  in  the  ascendant,  to  move  anything  for  his  in- 
jurv.  For  the  love  and  esteem,  which  he  had  the  faculty 
of  attracting  from  the  first,  deepened,  as  he  advanced  in 
age,  into  an  absolute  reverence  the  most  general  for  his 
character  and  person  ;  and  the  good  North  State  honored 
and  cherished  no  son  of  her  own  loins  more  than  she  did 
Joseph  Gales.  In  Raleigh  there  was  no  figure  that,  as  it 
passed,  was  greeted  so  much  by  the  signs  of  a  peculiar 
veneration  as  that  great,  stalwart  one  of  his,  looking  so 
plain  and  unaffected,  yet  with  a  sort  of  nobleness  in  its 
very  simplicity,  a  gentleness  in  its  strength,  an  inborn 
goodness  and  courtesy  in  all  its  roughness  of  frame,  — 
his  countenance  mild  and  calm,  yet  commanding,  thought 
ful,  yet  pleasant,  and  betokening  a  bosom  that  no  low 
thought  had  ever  entered.  You  had  in  him,  indeed,  the 
highest  image  of  that  stanch  old  order  from  which  he  was 
sprung,  and  might  have  said,  " Here's  the  soul  of  a  baron 


52  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

in  the  body  of  a  peasant."  For  he  really  looked,  when 
well  examined,  like  all  the  virtues  done  in  rough-cast. 

With  him  the  age  of  necessary  and  of  well-merited 
repose  had  now  come  ;  and  judging  that  he  could  attain  it 
only  by  quitting  that  habitual  scene  of  business  where  it 
would  still  solicit  him,  he  transferred  his  newspaper,  his 
printing-office,  and  the  bookstore  which  he  had  made  their 
adjunct  in  Raleigh,  as  in  Sheffield,  to  his  third  son, 
Weston,  and  removed  to  Washington,  in  order  to  pass 
the  close  of  his  days  near  two  of  the  dearest  of  his  chil 
dren,  —  his  son  Joseph  and  his  daughter  Mrs.  Seaton,  — 
from  wThom  he  had  been  separated  the  most. 

In  renouncing  all  individual  aims,  Mr.  Gales  fell  not 
into  a  mere  life  of  meditation,  but  sought  its  future  pleas 
ures  in  the  adoption  of  a  scheme  of  benevolence,  to  the 
calm  prosecution  of  which  he  might  dedicate  his  declining 
powers,  so  long  as  his  advanced  age  should  permit.  A 
worthy  object  for  such  efforts  he  recognized  in  the  plan  of 
African  colonization,  and  of  its  affairs  he  accepted  and 
almost  to  his  death  sustained  the  management  in  chief ; 
achieving  not  less,  by  his  admirable  judgment,  the  warm 
approval  and  thanks  of  that  widespread  association,  than 
by  the  most  amiable  virtues  of  private  life  winning  in 
Washington,  as  he  had  done  everywhere  else,  from  all  that 
approached  him,  a  singular  degree  of  deference  and 
affection. 

But  the  close  of  this  long  career  of  honor  and  of  usefulness 
was  now  at  hand.  In  1839  he  lost  the  wife  whose  tender 
ness  had  cheered  the  labors  and  whose  gay  intelligence  had 
brightened  the  leisure  of  his  existence.  She  had  lived  the 
delight  of  that  intimate  society  to  which  she  had  confined 
faculties  that  would  have  adorned  any  circle  whatever ; 
and  she  died  lamented  in  proportion  by  it,  and  by  the  only 


JOSEPH   GALES   AND   WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  53 

others  to  whom  she  was  much  known,  —  the  poor.  Her 
husband  survived  her  but  two  years,  expiring  at  his  son's 
house  in  Raleigh,  where  he  was  on  a  visit  in  April,  1841, 
at  the  age  of  eighty.  He  died  as  calm  as  a  child,  in  the 
placid  faith  of  a  true  Christian. 

Still  telling  his  story  in  the  order  of  dates,  the  writer 
would  now  turn  to  the  younger  Joseph  Gales.  As  we  have 
seen,  he  arrived  in  this  country  when  seven  years  old,  and 
went  to  Raleigh  about  six  years  afterwards.  There  he 
was  placed  in  a  school,  where  he  made  excellent  progress, 
profiting  by  the  recollections  of  his  earlier  lessons,  received 
from  that  best  of  all  elementary  teachers,  a  mother  of 
well-cultivated  mind.  His  boyhood,  as  usual,  prefigured 
the  mature  man  ;  it  was  diligent  in  study,  hilarious  at  play  ; 
his  mind  bent  upon  solid  things,  not  the  showy.  For  all 
good,  just,  generous,  and  kindly  things  he  had  the  warm 
est  impulse  and  the  truest  perceptions.  Quick  to  learn 
and  to  feel,  he  was  slow  only  of  resentment.  Never  was 
man  born  with  more  of  those  lacteals  of  the  heart  which 
secrete  the  milk  of  human  kindness.  Of  the  classic 
tongues  he  can  be  said  to  have  learnt  only  the  Latin  ;  the 
Greek  was  then  little  taught  in  any  part  of  our  country. 
For  the  positive  sciences  he  had  much  inclination  ;  since 
it  is  told,  among  other  things,  that  he  constructed  instru 
ments  for  himself,  such  as  an  electrical  machine,  with  the 
performances  of  which  he  much  amazed  the  people  of 
Raleigh.  Meantime  he  was  forming  at  home,  under  the 
good  guidance  there,  a  solid  knowledge  of  all  those  fine 
old  authors  whose  works  made  the  undegenerate  literature 
of  our  language  and  then  constituted  what  they  called 
Polite  Letters.  With  these  went  hand  in  hand,  at  that 
time  in  the  academies  of  the  South,  a  profane  amusement 
of  the  taste.  In  short,  our  sinful  youth  were  fond  of 


54  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

stage  pltiys,  and  even  wickedly  enacted  them,  instead  of 
resorting  to  singing-schools.  Joseph  Gales  the  younger 
had  his  boyish  emulation  of  Roscius  and  Garrick,  and  per 
formed  ''top  parts"  in  a  diversity  of  those  sad  comedies 
and  merry  tragedies  which  boys  are  apt  to  make,  wlr-n 
they  get  into  buskins.  But  it  must  be  said  that,  as  a 
theatric  star,  he  presently  waxed  dim  before  a  very  hand 
some  youth,  a  little  his  senior,  who  just  then  had  entered 
his  father's  oflice.  He  was  not  only  a  printer,  but  had 
already  been  twice  an  editor,  —  last,  in  the  late  North 
Carolina  capital,  Halifax ;  previously,  in  the  great  town 
of  Petersburg,  —  and  was  bred  in  what  seemed  to  Raleigh 
a  mighty  city,  Richmond  ;  in  addition  to  all  which  strong 
points  of  reputation,  he  came  of  an  F.  F.  V.,  and  had 
been  taught  by  the  celebrated  Ogilvie,  of  whom  more 
anon.  He  was  familiar  with  theatres,  and  had  not  only 
seen,  but  even  criticised  the  great  actors.  He  outshone 
his  very  brother-in-law  and  colleague  that  was  to  be.  For 
this  young  gentleman  was  William  Seaton. 

Meantime,  Joseph,  too,  had  learnt  the  paternal  art,— 
how  well  will  appear  from  a  single  fact.  About  this  time 
his  father's  office  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  with  it  the 
unfinished  printing  of  the  legislative  Journals  and  Acts 
of  the  year.  Time  did  not  allow  waiting  for  new  material 
from  Philadelphia.  Just  in  this  strait  he  that  had  of  old 
been  so  inauspicious,  Dick  Davison,  came  once  more  into 
play,  but  this  time  not  as  a  marplot.  He,  strange  to 
say,  was  at  hand  and  helpful.  For  after  his  political  ex 
ploit,  abandoning  England  in  disgust  at  the  consequences 
of  his  gunpowder  plot,  he,  too,  had  not  only  come  to 
America,  but  had  chanced  to  set  up  his  tk  type-stick  "  in 
the  neighboring  town  of  Warrenton,  where  having  flour 
ished,  he  was  now  the  master  of  a  printing-office  and  the 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    WILLIAM    W.    SEATON.  55 

conductor  of  a  newspaper.  Thither,  then,  young  Joseph 
was  despatched,  "  copy  "  in  hand.  Kit-hard  —  really  a 
worthy  man  after  all  —  gladly  atoned  for  his  ancient  hurtful- 
ness  by  lending  his  type  and  presses  ;  and  falling  to  work 
with  great  vigor,  our  young  Faust,  with  his  own  hands  put 
into  type  and  printed  off  the  needful  edition  of  the  Laws. 

He  had  also  by  this  time,  as  an  important  instrument  of 
his  intended  profession,  attained  the  art  of  stenography. 
"When,  soon  after,  he  began  to  employ  it,  he  rapidly  be 
came  an  excellent  reporter  ;•  and  eventually,  when  he  had 
grown  thoroughly  versed  in  public  affairs,  confessedly  the 
best  reporter  that  we  ever  had. 

He  was  now  well  prepared  to  join  in  the  manly  strife  of 
business  or  politics.  His  father  chose,  therefore,  at  once 
to  commit  him  to  himself.  He  judged  him  mature  enough 
in  principles,  strong  enough  in  sense  ;  and  feared  lest,  by 
being  kept  too  long  under  guidance  and  the  easy  life  of 
home,  he  should  fall  into  inertness.  He  first  sent  him  to 
Philadelphia,  therefore,  to  serve  as  a  workman  with  Birch 
&  Small ;  after  which  he  made  for  him  an  engagement 
on  the  National  Intelligencer,  as  a  reporter,  and  sent  him 
to  Washington  in  October,  1807. 

To  that  place,  changing  its  name  to  the  one  just 
mentioned,  the  father's  former  paper,  the  Gazetteer,  had 
been  transferred  by  his  old  associate,  Samuel  Harrison 
Smith.  Its  first  issue  there  (triweekly)  was  on  the  31st 
of  October,  1800,  under  the  double  title  of  The  National 
Intelligencer  and  Washington  Advertiser.  The  latter  half 
of  the  title  seems  to  have  been  dropped  in  1810,  when 
its  present  senior  came,  for  a  time,  into  its  sole  proprie 
torship. 

More  than  twice  the  age  of  any  other  journal  now 
extant  there,  —  for  the  Globe  came  some  thirty,  the 


56  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Union  some  forty-five  years  later, —  the  Intelligencer  has 
long  stood,  in  every  worthy  sense,  the  patriarch  of  our 
metropolitan  press.  It  has  witnessed  the  rise  and  fall 
around  it  of  full  a  hundred  competitors,  many  of  them 
declared  enemies  ;  not  a  few,  what  was  more  dangerous 
far,  professed  friends.  Yet  in  the  face  of  all  enmity  and 
of  such  friendship,  it  has  ever  held  on  its  calm  way,  never 
deserting  the  public  cause,  as  little  extreme  in  its  oppo 
sition  as  in  its  support  of  those  in  power ;  so  that  its  foes 
never  forgot  it,  when  they  prevailed,  but  its  friends  repeat 
edly.  To  estimate  the  value  of  its  influence,  during  its 
long  career,  would  be  impossible,  so  much  of  right  has  it 
brought  about,  so  much  of  wrong  defeated. 

Though  it  came  hither  with  our  Congress,  a  newspaper 
had  once  before  been  set  up  here,  either  upon  the  expecta 
tion  created  by  the  laying  of  certain  corner-stones,  in 
1792,  that  the  government  would  fix  itself  at  this  spot,  or 
through  an  odd  local  faith  in  the  dreams  of  some  ancient 
visionary  dwelling  hard  by,  who  had,  many  years  before, 
foretold  this  as  the  destined  site  of  a  great  imperial  city, 
a  second  Rome,  and  so  had  bestowed  upon  Goose  Creek 
the  name  of  Tiber,  long  before  this  was  Washington.  The 
founder  of  this  preadamite  journal  was  Mr.  Benjamin 
Moore,  its  name,  The  Washington  Gazette,  its  issue,  semi- 
weekly,  its  annual  price,  four  dollars,  and  the  two  leading 
principles  which,  in  that  day  of  the  infancy  of  political 
"platforms,"  his  salutatory  announced,  were,  first,  "to 
obtain  a  living  for  himself,"  and  secondly,  "to  amuse 
and  inform  his  fellow-mortals."  How  long  this  day-star 
of  our  journalism  shone  before  night  again  swallowed  up 
the  premature  dawn,  cannot  now  be  stated.  It  must  have 
been  published  at  what  was  then  expected  to  be  our  city, 
but  is  our  penitentiary,  Greenleaf's  Point. 


JOSEPH    GALES   AND    WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  57 

To  the  Intelligencer  young  Mr.  Gales  brought  such  vigor, 
such  talent,  and  such  skill  in  every  department,  that  within 
two  years,  in  1809,  he  was  admitted  by  Mr.  Smith  into 
partnership  ;  within  less  than  a  year  from  which  date, 
that  gentleman,  grown  weary  of  the  laborious  life  of  the 
press,  was  content  to  withdraw,  and  leave  him  sole 
proprietor,  editor,  and  reporter.  An  enormous  worker, 
however,  it  mattered  little  to  him  what  tasks  were  to  be 
assumed ;  he  could  multiply  himself  among  them  and 
sutlice  for  all. 

In  thus  assuming  the  undivided  charge  of  the  paper, 
the  young  editor  thought  it  becoming  to  set  forth  one 
main  principle  that  has,  beyond  a  question,  been  admi 
rably  the  guide  of  his  public  life.  .  He  said  to  his  readers, 
•"•  It  is  the  dearest  right  and  ought  to  be  cherished  as  the 
proudest  prerogative  of  a  freeman,  to  be  guided  by  the 
unbiassed  convictions  of  his  own  judgment.  This  right 
it  is  my  firm  purpose  to  maintain,  and  to  preserve  invio 
late  the  independence  of  the  print  now  committed  into 
my  hands."  Never  was  pledge  more  universally  made  or 
more  rarely  kept  than  this. 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  presidency 
that  Mr.  Gales  had  entered  the  office  of  the  Intelliyencer, 
and  it  was  during  Mr.  Madison's  first  year  that  he  became 
joint  editor  of  that  paper.  Of  these  administrations  it 
had  been  the  supporter,  only  following,  in  that  regard,  the 
transmitted  politics  of  its  original,  the  Gazetteer,  derived 
from  the  elder  Mr.  Gales.  Bred  in  these,  the  son  had 
learnt  them  of  his  sire,  just  as  he  had  adopted  his  religion 
or  his  morals.  Sprung  from  one  who  had  been  persecuted 
in  England  as  a  republican,  it  was  natural  that  the  son 
should  love  the  faith  for  which  an  honored  parent  had 
suffered. 


58  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

The  high  qualities  and  the  strong  abilities  of  the  young 
editor  did  not  fail  to  strike  the  discerning  eye  of  President 
Madison,  who  speedily  gave  him  his  affection  and  confi 
dence.  To  that  administration  the  Intelligencer  stood  in 
the  most  intimate  and  faithful  relations,  sustaining  its 
policy  as  a  necessity  where  it  might  not  have  been  a 
choice.  During  the  entire  course  of  the  war,  the  Intelli 
gencer  sustained  most  vigorously  all  the  measures  needful 
for  carrying  it  on  with  efficiency  ;  and  it  did  equally  good 
service  in  reanimating,  whenever  it  had  slackened  at  any 
disaster,  the  drooping  spirit  of  our  people.  Nor  did  its 
editors,  when  there  were  two,  stop  at  these  proofs  of 
sincerity,  nor  shrink  when  danger  drew  near  from  that 
hazard  of  their  own  persons  to  which  they  had  stirred  up 
the  country.  When  invasion  came,  they  at  once  took  to 
arms  as  volunteer  common  soldiers,  went  to  meet  the 
enemy,  and  remained  in  the  field  until  he  had  fallen  back 
to  the  coast ;  and  during  the  invasion  of  Washington, 
moreover,  their  establishment  was  attacked  and  partially 
destroyed,  through  an  unmanly  spirit  of  revenge  on  the 
part  of  the  British  forces. 

In  October,  1812,  proposing  to  himself  the  change  of 
his  paper  into  a  daily  one  (as  was  accordingly  brought 
about  on  the  first  of  January  ensuing),  Mr.  Gales  invited 
Mr.  Seaton,  who  had  by  this  time  become  his  brother-in- 
law,  to  come  and  join  him.  He  did  so  ;  and  the  early  tie 
of  youthful  friendship  which  had  grown  between  them  at 
Raleigh,  and  which  the  new  relation  had  drawn  still 
closer,  gradually  matured  into  that  more  than  friendship 
or  brotherhood,  that  oneness  and  identity  of  all  purposes, 
opinions,  and  interests  which  has  ever  since  existed  be 
tween  them  without  a  moment's  interruption,  and  has  long 
been  to  those  who  understood  it  a  rare  spectacle  of  that 


JOSEPH   GALES   AND   WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  59 

concord-  and  affection  so  seldom  witnessed,  and  could 
never  have  come  about  except  between  men  of  singular 
virtues. 

The  same  year  that  brought  (i  tiles  and  Setiton  together 
as  partners  in  business,  witnessed  an  alliance  of  a  more 
interesting  character;  for  it  was  in  1S13  that  .Mr.  dales 
married  the  accomplished  daughter  of  Theodorick  Lee, 
younger  brother  of  that  brilliant  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
the  *•  Legionary  Harry." 

But  at  this  point  the  writer  must  go  back  for  a  while, 
in  order  to  bring  down  the  story  of  William  Setiton  to 
where,  uniting  with  his  associates,  the  two  thus  tlow  on  in 
a  single  stream. 

He  was  born  Jan.  11,  17«f>,  on  the  paternal  estate  in 
King  William  County,  Virginia,  one  of  a  family  of  four 
sons  and  three  daughters.  At  the  good  old  mansion 
passed  his  childhood ;  there,  too,  according  to  what  was 
then  the  wont  in  Virginia,  he  trod  the  first  steps  of  learn 
ing,  under  the  guidance  of  a  domestic  tutor,  a  decayed 
gentleman,  old  and  bedridden,  for  the  only  part  left  him 
of  a  genteel  inheritance  was  the  gout.  But  when  it  be 
came  necessary  to  send  his  riper  progeny  abroad  for  more 
advanced  studies,  Mr.  Seaton  very  justly  bethought  him 
of  going  along  with  them  ;  and  so  betook  himself  with 
his  whole  family  to  Richmond,  where  he  was  the  possessor 
of  houses  enough  to  afford  him  a  good  habitation  and  a 
genteel  income.  Here,  then,  along  with  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  William  was  taught  through  an  ascending  series 
of  schools,  until  at  last  he  arrived  at  what  was  the  wonder 
of  that  day,  the  academy  of  Ogilvie,  the  Scotchman.  He, 
be  it  noted,  had  an  earldom,  that  of  Fiulater,  which  slept 
while  its  heir  was  playing  pedagogue  in  America,  —  a 
strange  mixture  of  the  ancient  rhapsodist  with  the  modern 


60  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

strolling  actor,  of  the  lord  with  him  who  lives  by  his  wits. 
Scot  as  he  was,  he  was  better  fitted  to  teach  anything 
rather  than  common-sense.  The  writer  must  not  give*  the 
idea,  however,  that  there  was  in  Lord  Finlater  anything 
but  eccentricity  to  derogate  from  the  honors  of  either  his 
lineage  or  his  learning.  A  very  solid  teacher  he  was  not. 
A  great  enthusiast  by  nature,  and  a  master  of  the  whole 
art  of  discoursing  finely  of  even  those  things  which  he  knew 
not  well,  he  dazzled  much,  pleased  greatly,  and  obtained  a 
high  reputation  ;  so  that,  if  he  did  not  regularly  inform  or 
discipline  the  minds  of  his  pupils,  he  probably  made  them, 
to  an  unusual  degree,  amends  on  another  side.  He  in 
fused  into  them,  by  the  glitter  of  his  accomplishments,  a 
high  admiration  for  learning  and  for  letters.  Certainly 
the  number  of  his  scholars  who  arrived  at  distinction  was 
remarkably;  and  this  is,  of  course,  a  fact  conclusive  of 
great  merit  of  some  sort  as  a  teacher,  where,  as  in  his 
case,  the  pupils  were  not  many.  Without  pausing  to 
mention  others  of  them  who  arrived  at  honor,  it  may  be 
well  enough  to  refer  to  Winfield  Scott,  William  Campbell 
Preston,  B.  Watkins  Leigh,  William  S.  Archer,  and  Wil 
liam  C.  Rives. 

The  writer  does  not  know  if  it  had  ever  been  designed 
that  young  Seaton  should  proceed  from  Ogilvie's  classes 
to  the  more  systematic  courses  of  a  college.  Possibly 
not.  Even  among  the  wealthy,  at  that  time,  home  educa 
tion  was  often  employed.  The  children  of  both  sexes 
were  committed  to  the  care  of  private  tutors,  usually 
young  Scotchmen,  the  graduates  of  Glasgow,  Edinburgh, 
or  Aberdeen,  sent  over  to  the  planter,  upon  order,  along 
with  his  yearly  supply  of  goods,  by  his  merchant  abroad  ; 
or  else  the  sons  were  sent  to  select  private  schools,  like 
that  of  Ogilvie,  set  up  by  men  of  such  abilities  and 


JOSEPH   GALES    AND   WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  f>l 

scholarship  as  were  supposed  capable  of  performing  the 
whole  work  of  institutions. 

At  any  rate,  our  youth,  without  further  preparation,  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  entered  earnestly  upon  the  duties  of 
life.  He  fell  at  once  into  his  vocation  ;  impelled  to  it, 
no  doubt,  by  the  ambition  for  letters  and  public  affairs 
which  the  lessons  of  Ogilvie  usually  produced.  Party  ran 
high.  Virginia  politics,  flushed  with  recent  success,  had 
added  to  the  usual  passions  of  the  contest  those  of  victory. 

Into  the  novelties  of  the  day  our  student  accordingly 
plunged,  in  common  with  nearly  all  others  of  a  like  age 
and  condition.  He  became,  in  short,  a  politician.  Though 
talent  of  every  other  sort  abounded,  that  of  writing 
promptly  and  pleasingly  did  not.  Young  Seaton  was  found 
to  possess  this,  and  therefore  soon  obtained  leave  to  exercise 
it  as  assistant  editor  of  one  of  the  Richmond  journals. 
He  had  already  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  art  of 
printing,  in  an  office  where  he  became  the  companion  and 
friend  of  the  late  Thomas  Ritchie,  and  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  many  of  his  youthful  '•  editorials "  were 
"  set  up  "  by  his  own  hands.  Attaining  by  degrees  a 
youthful  reputation,  he  received  an  invitation  to  take  the 
sole  charge  of  a  respectable  paper  in  Petersburg,  the 
Republican,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  which,  Mr. 
Thomas  Field,  was  about  to  leave  the  country  for  some 
months.  Acquitting  himself  here  with  great  approval,  he 
won  an  invitation  to  a  still  better  position,  —  that  of  the 
proprietary  editorship  of  the  North  Carolina  Journal, 
published  at  Halifax,  the  former  capital  of  that  State, 
and  the  only  newspaper  there.  He  accepted  the  offer, 
and  became  the  master  of  his  own  independent  journal. 
Of  its  being  so  he  proceeded  at  once  to  give  his  patrons  a 
somewhat  decisive  token.  They  were  chiefly  Federalists  ; 


62  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

it  was  a  region  strongly  Federal ;  and  the  gazette  itself 
had  always  maintained  the  purest  Federalism  but  he 
forthwith  changed  its  politics  to  Republican. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  who  made  a  change  so 
manly  conducted  his  paper  with  spirit.  Yet  he  must  have 
done  it  also  with  that  wise  and  winning  moderation  and 
fairness  which  have  since  distinguished  him  and  his  asso 
ciate.  William  Seaton  could  never  have  fallen  into  any 
thing  of  the  temper  or  the  taste,  the  morals  or  the  man 
ners,  which  are  now  so  widely  the  shame  of  the  American 
press  ;  he  could  never  have  written  in  the  ill  spirit  of  mere 
party,  so  as  to  wound  or  even,  offend  the  good  men  of  an 
opposite  way  of  thinking.  The  inference  is  a  sure  one 
from  his  character,  and  is  confirmed  by  what  we  know  to 
have  happened  during  his  editorial  career  among  the  Fed 
eralists  of  Halifax.  Instead  of  his  paper's  losing  ground 
under  the  circumstances  just  mentioned,  it  really  gained 
so  largely  and  won  so  much  the  esteem  of  both  sides,  that, 
when  he  desired  to  dispose  of  it,  in  order  to  seek  a  higher 
theatre,  he  easily  sold  the  property  for  double  what  it  had 
cost  him. 

It  was  now  that  he  made  his  way  to  Raleigh,  the  new 
State  capital,  and  became  connected  with  the  Register. 
Nor  was  it  long  before  this  connection  was  drawn  yet 
closer  by  his  happy  marriage  with  the  lady  whose  virtues 
and  accomplishments  have  so  long  been  the  modest  yet 
sliiiiiii"  ornament  and  charm  of  his  household  and  of  the 

o 

society  of  Washington.  After  this  union,  he  continued 
his  previous  relationship  with  the  Register,  until,  as  al 
ready  mentioned,  he  came  to  the  metropolis  to  join  his 
fortunes  with  those  of  his  brother-in-law.  From  this 
point,  of  course,  their  stories,  like  their  lives,  become  united, 
and  merge,  with  a  rare  concord,  into  one.  They  have 


JOSEPH   GALES    AND    WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  63 

had  no  bickerings,  no  misunderstanding,  no  difference 
of  view  which  a  consultation  did  not  at  once  reconcile ; 
they  have  never  known  a  division  of  interests  ;  from  their 
common  coffer  each  has  always  drawn  whatever  he  chose  ; 
and,  down  to  this  day,  there  has  never  been  a  settle 
ment  of  accounts  between  them.  What  facts  could  better 
attest,  not  merely  a  singular  harmony  of  character,  but 
an  admirable  conformity  of  virtues? 

The  history  of  the  Intelligencer  has,  as  to  all  its 
leading  particulars,  been  for  fifty  years  spread  before 
thousands  of  readers,  in  its  continuous  diary.  To  re- 
chronicle  any  part  of  what  is  so  well  known  would  be  idle 
in.  the  extreme.  Of  the  editors  personally,  their  lives, 
since  they  became  mature  and  settled,  have  presented  few 
events  such  as  are  not  common  to  all  men, — little  of 
vicissitude,  beyond  that  of  pockets  now  full  and  now 
empty.  —  nothing  but  a  steady  performance  of  duty,  an 
exertion,  whenever  necessary,  of  high  ability,  and  the 
gradual  accumulation  through  these  of  a  deeply  felt  esteem 
among  all  the  best  and  wisest  of  the  land.  Amidst  the 
many  popular  passions  with  which  nearly  all  have,  in  our 
country,  run  wild,  they  have  maintained  a  perpetual  and 
sage  moderation  ;  amidst  incessant  variations  of  doctrine, 
they  have  preserved  a  memory  and  a  conscience  ;  in  the 
frequent  fluctuations  of  power,  they  have  steadily  checked 
the  alternate  excesses  of  both  parties ;  and  they  have 
never  given  to  either  a  factious  opposition  or  a  merely 
partisan  support.  Of  their  journal  it  may  be  said,  that 
there  has,  in  all  our  times,  shone  no  such  continual  light 
on  public  affairs,  there  has  stood  no  such  sure  defence 
of  whatever  was  needful  to  be  upheld.  Tempering  the 
heats  of  both  sides  ;  re-nationalizing  all  spirit  of  section  ; 
combating  our  propensity  to  lawlessness  at  home  and 


64  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

aggression  abroad  ;  spreading  constantly  on  each  ques 
tion  of  the  day  a  mass  of  sound  information,  —  the  ven 
erable  editors  have  been,  all  the  while,  a  power  and  a 
safety  in  the  land,  no  matter  who  were  the  rulers.  Neither 
party  could  have  spared  an  opposition  so  just  or  a  sup 
port  so  well  measured.  Thus  it  cannot  be  deemed  an 
American  exaggeration  to  declare  the  opinion  as  to  the  in 
fluence  of  the  Intelligencer  over  our  public  counsels,  that 
its  value  is  not  easily  to  be  overrated. 

Never,  meantime,  was  authority  wielded  with  less 
assumption.  The  Intelligencer  could  not,  of  course, 
help  being  aware  of  the  weight  which  its  opinions  always 
carried  among  the  thinking  ;  but  it  has  never  betrayed 
any  consciousness  of  its  influence,  unless  in  a  ceaseless 
care  to  deserve  respect.  Its  modesty  and  candor,  its  fair 
ness  and  courtesy*  have  been  invariable  ;  nor  less  so,  its 
observance  of  that  decorum  and  those  charities  which  con 
stitute  the  very  grace  of  all  public  life.  On  the  score  of 
dignity  it  has  never  had  a  superior  and  seldom  an  equal  in 
any  country,  and  numerous  instances  might  be  cited,  at 
testing  the  fact  that  no  sums  of  money  ever  had  the  power 
to  make  them  publish  insincere  opinions  or  admit  to  their 
columns  improper  advertisements. 

From  the  time  of  their  coming  together  down  to  the 
year  1820,  Gales  and  Seaton  were  the  exclusive  reporters, 
as  well  as  editors,  of  their  journal;  one  of  them  devot 
ing  himself  to  the  Senate,  and  the  other  to  the  House  of 
Representatives.  Generally  speaking,  they  published  only 
running  reports ;  on  special  occasions,  however,  giving 
the  speeches  and  proceedings  entire.  In  those  days  they 
had  seats  of  honor  assigned  to  them  directly  by  the  side 
of  the  presiding  officers,  and  over  the  snuff-box,  in  a  quiet 
and  familiar  manner,  the  topics  of  the  day  were  often  dis- 


JOSEPH    CALKS    AND    WILLIAM    W.    SKATON.  65 

cussed.  To  the  privileges  they  then  enjoyed,  but  more 
especially  to  their  sagacity  and  industry,  are  we  now  in 
debted,  as  a  country,  for  their  "Register  of  Debates," 
which,  with  the  Intelligencer  ^  has  become  a  most  im 
portant  part  of  our  national  history.  As  in  their  journal 
nearly  all  the  most  eminent  of  American  statesmen  have 
discussed  the  affairs  of  the  country,  so  have  they  been 
the  direct  means  of  preserving  many  of  the  speeches  which 
are  now  the  acknowledged  ornaments  of  our  political  lit 
erature.  Had  it  not  been  for  Mr.  Gales,  the  great  intel 
lectual  combat  between  Hayne  and  Webster,  for  example, 
would  have  passed  into  a  vague  tradition,  perhaps.  The 
original  notes  of  Mr.  Webster's  speech,  now  in  Mr.  Gales's 
library,  form  a  volume  of  several  hundred  pages,  and, 
having  been  corrected  and  interlined  by  the  statesman's 
own  hand,  present  a  treasure  that  might  be  envied.  At 
the  period  just  alluded  to,  Mr.  Gales  had  given  up  the 
practice  of  reporting  any  speeches,  and  it  was  a  mere 
accident  that  led  him  to  pay  Mr.  Webster  tha  compliment 
in  question.  That  it  was  appreciated  was  proven  by  many 
reciprocal  acts  of  kindness  and  the  long  and  happy  intr 
macy  that  existed  between  the  two  gentlemen,  ending 
only  with  the  life  of  the  statesman.  It  was  Mr.  Web 
ster's  opinion,  that  the  abilities  of  Mr.  Gales  were  of  the 
highest  order ;  and  yet  the  writer  has  heard  of  one  in 
stance  in  which  even  the  editor  could  not  get  along  with 
out  a  helping  hand.  Mr.  Gales  had  for  some  days  been 
engaged  upon  the  grand  jury,  and,  with  his  head  full  of 
technicalities,  entered  upon  the  duty  of  preparing  a  cer 
tain  editorial.  In  doing  this,  he  unconsciously  employed 
a  number  of  legal  phrases  ;  and  when  about  half  through, 
found  it  necessary  to  come  to  a  halt.  At  this  juncture 
he  dropped  a  note  to  Mr.  Webster,  transmitting  the  un- 
& 


66  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

finished  article  and  explaining  his  difficulty.  Mr.  Web 
ster  took  it  in  hand,  finished  it  to  the  satisfaction  of  Mr. 
Gales,  and  it  was  published  as  editorial. 

But  the  writer  is  trespassing  upon  private  ground,  and 
it  is  with  great  reluctance  that  he  refrains  from  recording 
a  long  list  of  incidents  which  have  come  to  his  knowledge, 
calculated  to  illustrate  the  manifold  virtues  of  his  distin 
guished  friends.  That  they  are  universally  respected  and 
beloved  by  those  who  know  them ;  that  their  opinions 
on  public  matters  have  been  solicited  by  Secretaries  of 
State  and  even  by  Presidents  opposed  to  them  in  politics  ; 
that  their  journal  has  done  more  than  any  other  in  the 
country  to  promote  a  healthy  tone  in  polite  literature ; 
that  their  home-life  has  been  made  happy  by  the  influences 
of  refinement  and  taste  ;  and  that  they  have  given  away 
to  the  poor  money  enough  almost  to  build  a  city,  and  to 
the  unfortunate  spoken  kind  words  enough  to  fill  a  library, 
—  are  all  assertions  which  none  can  truthfully  deny.  If, 
therefore,  to  look  back  upon  a  long  life  not  uselessly  spent 
is  what  will  give  us  peace  at  last,  then  will  the  evening  of 
their  days  be  all  that  they  could  desire  ;  and  their  ' '  silver 
hairs,"  the  most  appropriate  crown  of  true  patriotism, 

"  Will  purchase  them  a  good  opinion, 
And  buy  men's  voices  to  commend  their  deeds." 

P.  S.  As  a  kind  of  sequel  to  the  foregoing  article  which 
was  written  shortly  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Joseph  Gales, 
in  1860,  the  writer  submits  the  subjoined  in  memoriam 
paragraphs  respecting  the  National  Intelligencer  and  its 
famous  editors  :  — 

Joseph  Gales  died  in  Washington,  July  21,  1860,  and 
William  W.  Seaton  also  departed  this  life  on  the  16th  of 
June,  1866,  in  the  same  city.  On  the  31st  of  December, 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    WILLIAM    W.    SEATON.  67 

1864,  appeared  the  last  number  of  the  National  Intelli 
gencer  under  the  auspices  of  its  then  surviving  editor,  who, 
on  that  day,  and  when  within  one  month  of  his  eightieth 
year,  retired  to  private  life.  In  other  hands  the  paper, 
though  bearing  the  old  name,  became  a  new  affair.  Its 
brilliant  sun  went  down  behind  the  horizon  while  yet  the 
sky  of  our  country  was  obscured  with  the  clouds  of  civil 
war ;  but  its  fame  wrill  ever  be  gloriously  identified  with 
the  honor  and  happiness  of  the  American  Union.  From 
every  part  of  the  land  —  from  the  North  and  the  South, 
the  East  and  the  West — went  forth  a  loving  benison  for 
the  prosperity  and  peaceful  decline  of  the  surviving  patri 
arch  of  the  American  press.  But  before  eighteen  months 
had  passed  away,  the  retirement  to  private  life  was  fol 
lowed  by  the  death  of  the  veteran  editor,  and  thus  ended 
the  remarkable  career  of  Gales  and  Seaton. 

Between  the  years  1825  and  1851),  both  inclusive,  the 
monthly  expenses  of  the  National  Intelligencer  averaged 
$4,000,  or  $1,680,000  for  the  whole  period.  The  amount 
drawn  out  by  Mr.  Gales  during  that  time  for  his  personal 
expenses  was  $617,270,  and  by  Mr.  Seaton,  $219,371  ; 
making  together  $836,642,  or  a  grand  total  of  moneys  dis 
bursed  by  the  office  in  thirty -five  years,  $2,516,641.  Of 
course  these  were  not  the  earnings  of  the  Intelligencer 
alone,  but  were  greatly  enhanced  by  the  various  Congres 
sional  publications  which  bore  the  imprint  of  Gales  & 
Seaton.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Gales,  the  office  was 
found  indebted  to  Mr.  Seaton  in  the  sum  of  $70,000, 
which  claim  was  presented  by  him  to  the  widow  of  his  late 
partner  and  brother-in-law. 

The  chief  business  man  and  bookkeeper  of  the  Intelli 
gencer  establishment,  and  the  warm  personal  friend  of  the 
editors,  was  Mr.  Thomas  Donoho.  He  was  born  in  Mary- 


68  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

land,  and  was  connected  with  the  journal  for  about  fifty 
years,  and  during  all  that  time  made  but  one  visit  to 
the  Capitol.  Like  Gales  and  Seaton,  he  won  and  com 
manded  the  highest  respect  of  all  those  who  had  business 
with  them,  and  the  devotion  of  the  former  to  the  welfare 
of  their  country  has  only  been  equalled  by  the  faithfulness 
of  the  latter  to  the  interests  of  his  distinguished  friends. 
When  the  Intelligencer  office  had  been  sold,  and  an  entire 
change  made  in  its  affairs,  Mr.  Douoho  was  asked  to  con 
tinue  there  on  duty,  to  which  request  he  made  this  charac 
teristic  reply  :  "  No,  I  cannot  be  happy  over  the  grave  of 
the  Intelligencer."  Nor  has  he,  as  we  understand,  ever  had 
the  heart  even  to  make  a  visit  to  the  old  quarters.  He 
asked  one  boon  of  the  new  proprietors,  however,  which 
was  that  they  would  give  him  the  old  sign-board  of  the 
office,  under  which  so  many  famous  men  in  the  olden  times 
had  passed  into  the  sanctums  of  the  editors.  The  request 
was  granted,  and,  true  to  his  character,  Mr.  Donoho  de 
posited  it  in  a  safe  place  at  the  shop  of  a  cabinet-maker, 
with  the  injunction  that  it  should  form  a  part  of  his  coffin 
when  he  came  to  die.* 

While  it  is  true  that  the  heavier  political  work  of  the 
Intelligencer  was  performed  by  Mr.  Gales,  it  is  also  true 
that  many  very  able  articles  emanated  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Seaton.  The  former  made  it  his  business  to  manage  the 
artillery  guns,  while  the  latter  chose  rather  to  devote  him 
self  to  infantry  tactics.  During  the  greater  part  of  their 
long  partnership  they  occupied  adjoining  rooms,  and  met 
at  least  once  every  day  for  consultation.  The  office  Jress 
of  Mr.  Gales  was  commonly  a  loose  morning-gown,  while 
that  of  Mr.  Seaton  was  a  dark  flannel  roundabout.  A 

*  His  request  was  complied  with. 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    "WILLIAM    W.    SKATON.  OU 

perennial  courtesy  prevailed  throughout  their  establish 
ment  ;  they  received  their  visitors  with  equal  urbanity  and 
kindness,  and  the  friends  of  the  one  editor  were  also  the 
friends  of  the  other.  In  recalling  Mr.  Gales's  room,  as 
I  knew  it,  three  features  come  out  in  bold  relief:  at  one 
end  of  it  were  some  wooden  cases,  filled  with  carefully 
arranged  letters  and  manuscripts,  confidential  communica 
tions  addressed  to  the  editors  on  public  affairs,  from  all 
the  leading  statesmen  and  politicians  of  the  country,  and 
of  which  Mr.  Gales  was  wont  to  speak  as  invaluable  ma 
terials  for  history  ;  another  thing  that  1  remember  was  a 
mammoth  tumbler,  from  which  the  editor  enjoyed  a  daily 
drink  of  cool  soda  water  ;  and  finally  a  single  oil  painting, 
which  hung  upon  the  wall  directly  in  front  of  the  editorial 
chair.  This  picture  represented  a  storm  at  sea,  with  one 
poor  little  steamer  fighting  its  way  against  the  wind  and 
tide  and  blinding  rain  ;  and  once,  when  I  was  looking 
upon  it  with  special  attention,  Mr.  Gales  suddenly  dropped 
a  letter  that  he  was  reading,  and  made  this  comment :  u  I 
keep  that  picture  there  for  my  daily  comfort.  It  is  not 
valuable  as  a  work  of  art,  but  its  teachings  are  precious  to 
me.  I  know  that  the  little  steamer  will  reach  its  destined 
haven  in  spite  of  the  storm,  and  so,  when  I  am  in  trouble 
and  in  want  of  money,  I  have  but  to  look  upon  this  pic 
ture,  brace  my  courage  anew,  do  the  best  I  can,  and  be 
happy,  for  the  storm  cannot  last  forever." 

On  entering  Mr.  Seaton's  room,  the  first  object  which 
iDvariably  attracted  the  visitor's  attention  was  a  noble 
pointer  dog,  lying  by  the  side  of  his  master's  chair.  Here, 
as  in  the  adjoining  room,  were  packed  away  many  auto 
graphic  treasures  ;  but  the  books  scattered  about  were  more 
numerous,  and  the  walls  were  literally  covered  with  maps 
and  charts,  as  if  the  occupant  loved  to  let  his  fancy  roam, 


70  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

while  smoking  his  cigar,  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
earth;  and  in  their  appropriate  places  might  be  seen  a 
newly  invented  gun,  a  case  or  two  of  stuffed  game  birds, 
and  a  few  engravings  of  English  hunting  scenes.  Hold 
ing,  as  Mr.  Seaton  did  for  many  years,  the  offices  of  Mayor 
of  Washington,  and  treasurer  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu 
tion,  as  well  as  many  others  of  equal  responsibility,  it 
was  natural  that  his  visitors  should  be  more  numerous  and 
multifarious  than  those  who  usually  had  business  with  Mr. 
Gales,  and  it  was  because  of  his  pressing  official  duties 
that  he  was  unable  to  do  as  much  writing  for  his  journal  as 
he  desired  and  the  public  expected.  The  very  last  time 
I  visited  his  sanctum  before  the  old  office  building  was 
replaced  by  the  new  one,  his  splendid  old  dog  still  lay  upon 
the  rug  at  his  feet,  and  in  answer  to  some  casual  allusion 
which  I  made  to  woodcock  shooting,  he  remarked,  "  Oh  ! 
yes,  I  know  that  game  is  abundant,  but  the  old  dog  and  the 
old  man,  I  fear,  will  never  hunt  any  more." 

As  already  intimated,  the  statesmen  who  have  occasion 
ally  contributed  to  the  National  Intelligencer  comprise  a 
large  proportion  of  the  more  famous  men  of  the  country, 
including  such  giants  as  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun  ;  but 
the  list  of  purely  literary  men  who  have  from  time  to  time 
made  it  the  medium  of  communicating  with  the  public  is 
also  very  large.  Of  all  its  regular  European  correspondents, 
Mr.  Robert  M.  Walsh  was  undoubtedly  the  most  able,  and 
his  contributions  extended  through  a  series  of  many  years  ; 
and  the  man  who  gave  it  the  highest  literary  tone  was 
Mr.  Edward  William  Johnston,  who  was  a  man  of  rare 
scholarship  and  ability,  and  his  collected  writings  would 
make  a  volume  of  very  superior  excellence.  At  a  subse 
quent  period  the  reviews  and  political  editorials  of  James 
C.  Welling  did  much  to  keep  up  the  reputation  of  the  old 
journal. 


JOSEPH  GALES   AND   WILLIAM   W.    SEATON.  71 

Eckington  was  the  mime  by  which  the  country  seat  of 
Mr.  Gales  was  known,  and  it  was  situated  just  on  the 
northeastern  border  of  the  city  of  Washington.  It  was 
named  by  him  after  the  native  town  of  his  father  in  Eng 
land,  and  I  remember  that  he  once  pronounced  Johnston's 
44 Universal  Gazetteer"  the  best  work  extant,  of  its  kind, 
because  it  was  the  only  one  which  had  mentioned  the  town 
of  Eckington.  The  house  was  unpretending  in  its  archi 
tecture,  though  truly  elegant.  All  its  appointments  and 
surroundings  were  home-like,  and  a  number  of  huge  oak- 
trees  extended  their  limbs  over  the  roof,  from  one  of  which, 
during  a  summer  night  that  I  once  spent  there,  a  ven 
erable  owl  amused  itself  with  melancholy  hootings. 

The  visit  here  alluded  to  was  made  at  a  time  when  Mr. 
Gales  was  in  excellent  health,  and  the  delightful  impres 
sions  which  it  left  upon  me  can  never  be  forgotten.  The 
wines  which  sparkled  in  our  glasses  at  the  dinner-table 
were  rich  and  rare ;  but  the  wit  and  wisdom  and  numerous 
anecdotes  of  the  great  men  of  the  time,  which  the  host 
condescended  to  utter  for  my  gratification,  were  far  more 
exhilarating  than  the  product  of  any  vintage.  And  then 
when  Mr.  Gales  piloted  me  from  room  to  room,  and  brought 
out  the  treasures  of  his  extensive  library,  among  which 
was  the  original  manuscript  of  Webster's  Reply  to  Hayne, 
which  he  had  reported,  and  scores  of  illustrated  books  by 
Gavarni  and  other  famous  French  artists,  for  whose  pro 
ductions  he  had  a  special  fondness,"  it  seemed  to  me  that  I 
had  never  before  enjoyed  such  a  splendid  collection  of  in 
tellectual  luxuries.  When  his  hour  for  retiring  arrived, 
and  he  found  that  I  was  not  disposed  to  waste  any  time 
by  sleeping,  he  fixed  me  in  a  large  arm-chair  under  a  brill 
iant  light,  piled  up  quarto  and  folio  volumes  of  rarest 
value  on  the  carpet  around  me,  and  then  bade  me  good 


72  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

night.  And  in  what  a  wonder- world  did  I  then  revel! 
Nor  was  it  strange  that,  after  I  had  sought  my  pillow, 
I  heard  the  hootings  of  the  gunrdian  owl  until  the  dawn. 
I  left  my  bed  as  early  as  four  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  on  entering  the  private  study  of  the  great  editor,  I 
found  him  hard  at  work  upon  one  of  those  political  leaders 
which  were  the  foundation  of  his  fame. 

As  Mr.  Gales  had  his  Eckington,  where  he  quietly  re 
sided  during  all  the  vernal  months,  so  did  Mr.  Seaton  have 
his  shooting-box,  where  he  was  wont  annually  to  spend  a 
few  weeks  in  the  enjoyment  of  wild  life,  when  anxious  to 
get  away  from  the  cares  of  business.  This  spot  was  called 
"  The  Mountain  Retreat,"  and  consisted  of  a  plain  farm 
house,  planted  in  the  midst  of  several  hundred  acres  of 
land  on  the  top  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  in  Virginia. 
When  he  went  there  to  be  free  and  happy  he  invariably 
took  with  him  a  few  chosen  friends  ;  and  then  it  was  that 
deer  hunting  and  trout  fishing  were  engaged  in  to  their 
greatest  perfection ;  as  well  as  midnight  suppers,  with 
game  from  the  wilderness,  washed  down  with  wines  all  the 
way  from  the  Rhine  ;  and  the  countless  stories  of  wild  ad 
venture  which  were  first  told  at  the  Mountain  Retreat 
became  household  words  among  his  friends  in  their  city 
homes  during  the  ensuing  winter.  The  intensity  of  Mr. 
Seaton's  love  of  nature  was  something  rare,  and  was  the 
precious  gift,  undoubtedly,  that  kept  his  physical  and  men 
tal  qualities  in  perfect  trim  until  he  had  passed  his  three 
score  years  and  ten,  and  preserved  his  mind  as  clear  as  a 
diamond  until  the  close  of  life.  The  wild  scenery  and  the 
bracing  air  of  the  mountains  were  among  his  greatest 
blessings. 

1  do  not  remember  when  it  was,  exactly,  that  Mr. 
Seaton  gave  up  the  use  of  the  shot-gun,  but  I  do  know 


JOSEPH    GALES    AND    WILLIAM    W.    SEATON.  73 

that  as  late  as  the  autumn  of  1803  he  Lagged  a  fair  pro 
portion  of  birds.  At  that  time  he  was  looking  almost  as 
hale  and  hearty  as  a  young  man  of  twenty.  Even  during 
the  coldest  weather  of  that  season  he  occasionally  left  his 
bed  before  dawn,  roused  his  splendid  dog,  and,  accom 
panied  by  a  single  servant,  drove  off  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  to  parts  unknown,  returning  home  with  one  or  two 
dozen  birds  in  time  fora  late  dinner,  having  taken  exercise 
enough  to  keep  him  in  good  condition  until  again  tempted 
to  make  another  foray  fci  on  the  moors." 

On  one  occasion  when  Mr.  Webster  was  in  the  Senate, 
he  had,  in  company  with  a  brother  senator,  waited  upon 
the  editors  of  the  National  Intelligencer,  and  when  the  in 
terview  terminated  and  the  visitors  were  about  entering  their 
carriage,  Mr.  Webster  was  heard  to  make  this  remark  : 
"  Those,  sir,  are  two  of  the  wisest  and  best  heads  in  this 
country  ;  as  to  Mr.  Gales,  he  knows  more  about  the  history 
of  this  government  than  all  the  political  writers  of  the  day 
put  together." 

Mr.  Seaton  had  a  special  fondness  for  horticulture  ;  and 
for  a  great  many  years  he  cultivated  an  extensive  garden, 
which  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  elegant  affair  of 
the  kind  in  Washington  ;  and  in  this  delightful  taste  he 
enjoyed  the  hearty  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  his  ac 
complished  wife.  Indeed,  his  love  of  nature  in  all  its 
aspects,  combined  with  a  fondness  for  sporting,  constituted 
a  leading  feature  of  his  character. 

That  he  left  not  a  stone  unturned  to  make  this  garden 
interesting  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  where  he  expended 
dollars  he  reaped  only  pennies,  and  also  by  the  following 
circumstance  :  During  one  of  his  visits  to  New  England, 
lie  tarried  a  day  in  Hartford  for  the  sole  purpose  of  ob 
taining  a  few  acorns  from  the  Charter  Oak,  and  having  been 


74  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

successful,  planted  and  nourished  them  with  care  ;  and  one 
or  two  years  before  his  death  he  had  the  pleasure  of  pre 
senting  to  his  friends  a  number  of  saplings  from  the  famous 
tree.  He  was  always  fond  of  making  little  presents  to 
those  whom  he  esteemed,  and  his  delicate  manner  of  mak 
ing  them  invariably  enhanced  their  value. 

Although  the  intimacy  which  existed  between  the  editors 
of  the  Intelligencer  and  Mr.  Webster  was  most  cordial  and 
of  long  standing,  there  was  something  like  brotherly  affec 
tion  in  that  between  Mr.  Seaton  and  the  great  statesman. 
They  sympathized  with  each  other  in  all  their  pleasures  ; 
read  the  same  books,  cherished  the  same  friends,  recalled 
to  a  great  extent  the  same  memories  connected  with  public 
men  and  events,  had  their  sporting  moods  in  common,  and 
probably  enjoyed  as  many  good  dinners  together  as  any 
other  men  of  their  time.  During  the  twenty  or  thirty 
years  of  Mr.  Webster's  residence  in  Washington,  there 
was  no  private  individual  there  with  whom  his  relations  of 
intimacy  were  so  close  as  those  with  Mr.  Seaton.  It  might 
be  added,  too,  that  there  was  no  person,  out  of  his  family, 
to  whom  he  was  so  much  attached.  A  part  of  almost 
every  evening,  when  not  engaged  at  home  or  elsewhere,  he 
spent  in  the  drawing-room  of  Mr.  Seaton,  with  the  ladies 
of  his  family,  or  tete-a-tete  with  him  in  winter  at  the  fire 
side,  or  in  evening  strolls  in  summer. 

The  evening  preceding  the  delivery  of  the  speech  in  re 
ply  to  Colonel  Hayne  by  Mr.  Webster,  he  spent  with  Mr. 
Seaton  at  his  residence.  When,  near  midnight,  the  former 
was  about  to  leave,  the  latter  took  his  arm,  and  they  had  a 
pleasant  walk  to  Louisiana  Avenue.  On  arriving  at  his 
home  Mr.  Webster  took  Mr.  Seaton's  arm,  and  insisted 
upon  seeing  him  home.  The  scene  was  amusing,  but  Mr. 
Webster's  object  seemed  to  be  to  take  exercise,  enjoy  the 


WASHINGTON    IRVING.  75 

conversation  of  his  friend,  and  look  upon  the  star-studded 
sky,  now  descanting  upon  the  wonders  of  astronomy  and 
then  repeating  passages  from  the  Bible,  Virgil,  Shake 
speare,  and  Milton,  while  not  an  allusion  was  made  to  the 
impending  event  of  the  morrow. 

But  as  I  am  not  writing  a  book,  I  must  put  a  curb 
upon  my  memory,  and  bring  these  personal  recollections  to 
a  close.  As  Gales  and  Seaton  spent  their  lives  in  writing 
for  the  public  welfare,  they  had  but  little  time  to  indulge 
in  the  pleasures  of  letter-writing,  and  yet  a  collection  of 
their  letters  to  personal  friends  would  be  read  with  great 
gratification  ;  but  when  the  correspondence  addressed  to 
them,  on  all  sorts  of  subjects,  by  men  of  distinction  from 
every  part  of  the  country,  shall  be  collected  and  published, 
as  it  should  and  probably  will  be,  the  historical  lore  of  the 
Republic  will  be  enriched  to  a  rare  degree. 


WASHINGTON   IRVING. 

I  WAS  a  lover  of  this  famous  man,  even  in  my  boyhood, 
and  he  was  my  friend  and  counsellor  in  later  years  when 
I  had  the  audacity  to  follow  his  footsteps  in  the  world  of 
literature.  A  day  that  I  once  spent  with  him  in  Wash 
ington  City  I  remember  as  one  of  the  most  delightful  of 
my  whole  life.  In  a  private  letter  which  I  wrote  to  my 
friend,  Peter  Force,  I  gave  him  an  account  of  my  experi 
ences,  and  several  years  afterwards  he  printed  the  letter 
in  the  National  Intelligencer,  under  the  heading  of  "A 
Day  with  Washington  Irving,"  as  follows  :  — 

WASHINGTON,  Feb.  20,  1853. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Washington  Irving  has  been,  as  you 
are  aware,  the  lion  of  the  metropolis  for  more  than  a 


76  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

week,  and  it  has  been  my  rare  good  fortune  to  see  much 
of  him.  lie  came  here  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
Washington  papers  in  the  Department  of  State,  and  he  is 
the  guest  of  his  friend,  Hon.  John  P.  Kennedy.  My 
official  position  in  the  department  has  made  it  my  duty  to 
treat  him  with  attention  there.  I  have  met  him  also  in 
company,  I  have  had  a  long  talk  with  him  in  my  quiet 
little  library,  and  I  have  been  his  guide  and  companion  in 
a  visit  to  Arlington.  That  my  head  should,  therefore,  lie 
full  of  ideas  gathered  from  his  delightful  conversation  is 
quite  natural ;  and  the  fact  that  he  once  wrote  to  a  friend 
a  personal  letter  about  Sir  Walter  Scott,  would  seem  to 
sanction  my  recording  for  your  gratification  a  few  para 
graphs  bearing  upon  his  own  private  habits  and  opinions. 
The  title  of  his  essay  was  "  Abbotsford,"  and  the  subject 
of  mine  shall  be  "  A  Day  with  Washington  Irving,"  for  I 
propose  to  confine  myself  in  this  letter  to  what  I  obtained 
while  on  our  visit  to  Arlington. 

Hardly  had  our  carriage  ceased  rattling  over  the  stony 
streets  and  reached  the  long  bridge  across  the  Potomac, 
before  his  conversation  became  so  interesting  that  I  invol 
untarily  seized  my  note-book.  At  this  professional  move 
ment  he  smiled,  and  as  he  did  not  demur,  I  proceeded  to 
question  him  in  regard  to  his  literary  career  and  other  kin 
dred  matters,  the  substance  of  his  replies  being  as  follows  : 

He  was  born  in  Williams  Street,  New  York,  and  was 
first  sent  to  school  in  his  fourth  year.  The  first  books  he 
ever  read  were  4i  Robinson  Crusoe,"  "  Sindbad,  the  Sailor," 
and  an  old  serial  called  the  "  World  Displayed."  His  first 
attempts  with  the  pen  were  made  in  his  thirteenth  year, 
and  consisted  of  rhymes,  which  were  soon  followed  by  a 
dramatic  sketch.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he  stopped  going 
to  school  and  became  a  lawyer's  clerk. 


WASHINGTON   IRVING.  77 

"William  Jerdan,  of  the  London  Literary  Gazette,  was 
one  of  his  earliest  and  best  friends.  He  was  the  first  to 
republish  some  of  the  stray  papers  of  the  "  Sketch-Book," 
and,  if  you  will  pardon  my  egotism,  I  will  here  fix  the  fact 
that  the  first  and  several  of  the  most  friendly  reviews 
ever  published  in  England,  of  my  own  productions,  were 
written  by  the  same  distinguished  critic.  At  the  time 
alluded  to,  Mr.  Irving  was  afloat  in  the  world,  and  de 
pended  upon  his  pen  for  a  living.  After  several  of  the 
essays  had  appeared  in  the  Gazette,  the  editor  recom 
mended  that  the  whole  collection  should  be  printed  in  a 
book  ;  and  this,  after  some  delay,  was  accomplished.  The 
book  was  offered  to  John  Murray,  but  was  declined. 
Walter  Scott  recommended  it  to  Archibald  Constable,  of 
Edinburgh,  and  he  was  ready  to  take  it,  but  in  the  mean 
time  Mr.  Irving  had  it  published  upon  his  own  venture. 
That  effort  proved  a  failure  ;  but  the  work  was  subse 
quently  successful  with  the  imprint  upon  it  of  John 
Murray. 

At  this  success  no  man  was  more  astonished  than  him 
self  ;  and  when  an  American  critic  spoke  of  the  story  of 
'k  Kip  Van  Winkle"  as  a  futile  attempt  at  humor,  he  said 
he  was  more  than  half  willing  to  believe  his  judgment 
correct.  Indifference  to  censure  and  applause  had  never 
been  and  is  not  now  a  trait  in  his  character. 

On  questioning  Mr.  Irving  in  regard  to  '4  Knickerbock 
er's  History  of  New  York,"  he  told  me  that  it  had  cost 
him  more  hard  work  than  any  other  of  his  writings,  though 
he  considered  it  decidedly  the  most  original.  He  was 
often  greatly  perplexed  to  fix  the  boundary  between  the 
purely  historical  and  the  imaginative.  The  facts  of  his 
tory  had  given  him  great  trouble. 

As  to  his  "  Life  of  Washington,"  which  has  been  so 


78  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

long  expected  by  the  public,  and  which  was  announced 
contrary  to  his  wishes  and  had  given  him  great  annoyance, 
he  said  he  hardly  believed  he  would  ever  send  it  to  press. 
He  loved  the  subject,  and  thought  first  of  writing  such  a 
work  twenty  years  ago  ;  but  so  many  able  men  had  written 
upon  it,  he  did  not  believe  he  could  say  anything  new. 
Many  people  had  told  him  he  ought  to  write  it,  but  why 
should  he  ?  Ten  years  ago  he  had  the  work  all  written  in 
chapters  to  the  inauguration  of  Washington  as  President, 
and  he  could  finish  it  now  in  a  few  days.  But  he  did  not 
like  it ;  it  did  not  suit  him,  and  he  really  expected  to  put 
it  in  the  fire  some  of  these  days.  He  ought  to  have  com 
menced  it  forty  years  ago.  All  that  he  could  hope  to  do, 
that  would  be  new,  was  to  weave  into  his  narrative  what 
incidents  he  could  obtain  of  a  private  and  personal  char 
acter.  He  supposed  some  people  thought  it  very  foolish 
for  him  to  be  writing  any  book  at  his  time  of  life,  now 
that  he  was  seventy  years  old,  but  the  subject  was  in 
tensely  interesting  to  him,  and  he  wished  to  write  it  for 
his  own  gratification.  He  might  not  live  to  complete  it, 
but  he  would  try  what  he  could  do.  He  must  be  doing 
something ;  he  could  not  be  idle.*  His  mother  was  an 
admirer  of  General  Washington,  and  hence  the  name  she 
gave  her  son. 

With  regard  to  the  Washington  papers  in  the  Depart 
ment  of  State,  he  said  he  had  found  very  little  in  them 
worth  printing  which  had  not  already  been  published. 

Mr.  Irving's  main  object  in  visiting  Arlington  was  to 
gather  items  of  personal  information  about  Washington. 
Mount  Vernon  he  was  already  familiar  with,  and  counting 

*  The  first  volume  of  the  "  Life  of  Washington"  was  published 
in  the  summer  of  1855,  and  the  fifth  and  last  in  1859. 


WASHINGTON    IRVING.  79 

much  upon  an  interview  with  Mr.  Custis,  he  was  not  dis 
appointed.  The  name  and  character  of  Washington  he 
seems  to  love  and  admire  with  intensity  ;  he  looks  upon 
him  as  a  special  gift  from  God  to  this  country,  and  I  have 
not  heard  our  great  author  speak  of  our  great  general 
without  emotion.  He  says  that  every  American  should 
be  proud  of  the  memory  of  Washington,  and  should  make 
his  example  and  his  wonderful  character  a  continual 
study. 

Our  mutual  friend  of  Arlington  House,  with  his  wife, 
received  Mr.  Irving  with  every  manifestation  of  regard, 
and  after  the  true  open-handed  and  open-hearted  Virginia 
fashion.  The  pictures,  the  books,  and  the  furniture, 
relics  from  Mount  Vernon,  were  all  exhibited ;  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that  Mr.  Custis  was  particularly  happy  in 
expressing  his  "  recollections  of  the  chief,"  which,  you 
will  remember,  is  a  pet  phrase  with  our  friend.  But  Mr. 
Irving  himself  had  seen  General  Washington.  He  said 
that  there  was  some  celebration  going  on  in  New  York, 
and  the  general  was  there  to  participate  in  the  ceremony. 
"My  nurse,"  continued  Mr.  Irving,  "a  good  old  Scotch 
woman,  was  very  anxious  for  me  to  see  him,  and  held  me 
up  in  her  arms  as  he  rode  past.  This,  however,  did  not 
satisfy  her ;  so  the  next  day,  when  walking  with  me  in 
Broadway,  she  espied  him  in  a  shop,  she  seized  my  hand, 
and  darting  in  exclaimed  in  her  bland  Scotch,  '  Please, 
your  Excellency,  here's  a  bairn  that's  called  after  ye!' 
General  Washington  then  turned  his  benevolent  face  full 
upon  me,  smiled,  laid  his  hand  upon  my  head,  and  gave 
me  his  blessing;  which,"  added  Mr.  Irving,  earnestly,  "I 
have  reason  to  believe,  has  attended  me  through  life.  I 
was  but  five  years  old,  yet  I  can  feel  that  hand  upon  iny 
head  even  now." 


80  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

Of  all  the  pleasant  reminiscences  which  Mr.  Irving 
brought  from  Arlington  House,  the  most  agreeable  one 
was  that  he  had  noticed  a  striking  resemblance  between 
Mrs.  Custis  and  his  own  mother.  The  latter  had  been 
dead  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  ho  had  been  a  very  exten 
sive  traveller,  but  he  had  never  seen  a  face  toward  which 
his  heart  seemed  to  yearn  so  strongly.  I  noticed  the  fact 
that  he  could  hardly  keep  his  eyes  off  her,  and  he  thought 
proper  to  apologize  for  his  apparent  rudeness  by  alluding 
to  the  emotions  which  her  presence  excited  in  his  breast. 
He  subsequently  accounted  to  me  for  the  resemblance  by 
analyzing  the  peculiar  expression  of  the  eyes,  caused  by 
unusually  long  eyelashes,  all  of  which  seemed  to  be  con 
firmed,  in  my  opinion,  by  the  dreamy  expression  of  his 
own  eyes.  From  the  tone  of  his  conversation  it  was 
apparent  that  his  admiration  for  a  true  woman  was  un 
bounded.  He  said  that  he  never  tired  looking  at  them. 
It  had  always  been  his  custom,  when  travelling  over  the 
world,  to  take  particular  notice  of  the  women  whom  lie 
met,  especially  if  they  were  beautiful,  and  amuse  himself 
by  composing  stories,  purely  imaginary,  of  course,  in 
which  they  conspicuously  figured. 

When  questioned  as  to  his  manner  of  writing,  Mr. 
Irving  gave  me  the  following  particulars :  He  usually 
wrote  with  great  rapidity.  Some  of  the  most  popular  pas 
sages  in  his  books  were  written  with  the  utmost  ease,  and 
the  more  uninteresting  ones  were  those  which  had  cost  him 
the  most  trouble  ;  at  one  time  he  had  to  labor  very  hard 
to  bring  up  one  part  of  an  essay  to  the  level  of  another. 
He  never  allowed  a  thing  to  go  to  press,  however,  without 
writing  it  or  overlooking  it  a  second  time  ;  he  was  always 
careful  about  that.  Several  of  the  papers  in  the  "  Sketch- 
Book"  were  written  before  breakfast ;  one  he  remembered 


WASHINGTON   IRVING.  81 

especially,  "  The  Wife."  At  one  time,  when  in  England, 
Thomas  Moore  called  upon  him  when  deeply  engaged  in 
writing  a  story,  and,  as  the  poet  saw  page  after  page  of 
Mr.  Irving's  manuscript  thrown  aside,  lie  stepped  quietly 
into  the  room  and  did  not  speak  a  word  until  the  task  was 
ended,  when  he  said  he  thought  it  a  pity  to  disturb  a  man 
under  such  circumstances.  The  first  things  he  ever  printed 
were  school  compositions,  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
sending  to  the  Weekly  Museum,  a  little  quarto  journal 
published  in  New  York,  when  he  was  a  boy  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  old.  Many  papers  that  he  sent  to  the 
printer  were  rejected,  but  those  assaults  upon  his  pride  did 
not  make  him  unhappy.  At  no  period  of  his  life  had  he 
ever  attempted  to  make  a  grand  sentence  ;  his  chief  ob 
ject  had  been  to  utter  his  thoughts  in  the  fewest  possible 
words,  as  simple  and  plain  as  language  would  allow.  The 
only  poetry  he  had  ever  attempted  was  a  piece  entitled 
"  Lines  to  the  Passaic."  These  verses  were  written  in  an 
al) mm  for  the  amusement  of  a  party  of  ladies  and  gentle 
men  at  the  falls,  which  he  had  joined.  He  said  they  ought 
never  to  have  been  printed,  for  in  his  opinion  they  were 
very  poor,  very  poor  stuff. 

In  1802,  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  published  in  a 
paper  called  the  Chronicle,  edited  by  his  brother,  a  series 
of  letters  over  the  signature  of  "Jonathan  Oldstyle,"  but 
these  productions  he  never  acknowledged.  In  consequence 
of  ill  health  he  went  to  Europe  in  1804,  and  after  his  re 
turn  to  New  York,  in  1807,  he  took  the  chief  part  in  Sal 
magundi,  was  assisted  by  his  friend  Paulding,  and  all  that 
he  ever  received  for  his  labors  was  one  hundred  dollars, 
while  the  publisher  pocketed  not  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
dollars.  "  Knickerbocker's  New  York  "  was  published  in 
1809,  some  of  the  early  editions  having  been  illustrated  by 
6 


«Z  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

the  pencils  of  Allston  and  Leslie,  and  in  1813  he  edited 
the  "  Aualectic  Magazine,"  at  which  time  he  became  a  staff 
officer  and  was  called  Colonel  Irving.  The  years  in  which 
his  succeeding  books  made  their  appearance,  as  near  as  he 
could  remember,  were  as  follows  :  "  The  Sketch-Book  "  in 
1818  ;  "Bracebridge  Hall"  in  1822  ;  "  Tales  of  a  Travel 
ler,"  1824  ;  "Columbus,"  1828  ;  "  Conquest  of  Granada," 
1829;  "Alhambra,"  1832;  "Crayon  Miscellany,"  1835; 
"Astoria,"  183G  ;  "  Bonneville's  Adventures,"  1837; 
"  Oliver  Goldsmith,"  1849  ;  and  "  Mahomet,"  1859.  The 
University  of  Oxford  made  him  an  LL.  D.  in  1831,  when 
he  was  secretary  of  legation  in  London  ;  and  the  date  of 
his  appointment  as  minister  to  Spain  was  1842,  the  same 
having  been  conferred  without  his  solicitation.  The  fifty- 
guinea  gold  medal  conferred  upon  him  by  George  TV.  was 
for  historical  composition  ;  and  the  person  who  received  the 
other  medal  of  the  same  year  (1831)  was  Henry  Hallain. 

He  touched  upon  literary  men  generally,  and  a  bit  of 
criticism  on  Thackeray  seemed  to  me  full  of  meaning.  He 
liked  the  novelist  as  a  lecturer  and  a  man,  and  his  books 
were  capital.  Of  his  novels  he  liked  "  Pendennis  "  most ; 
"  Vanity  Fair"  was  full  of  talent,  but  many  passages  hurt 
his  feelings;  "Esmond  "he  thought  a  queer  affair,  but 
deeply  interesting.  Thackeray  had  quite  as  great  talents 
as  Dickens  ;  but  Dickens  was  genial  and  warm,  and  that 
suited  him. 

On  looking  at  a  picturesque  group  of  children  by  the 
roadside,  he  was  reminded  of  Wilkie.  He  knew  the 
painter  well.  Returning  from  Italy,  Wilkie  had  heard  of 
his  being  in  Spain,  and  went  all  the  way  to  Madrid  to 
spend  a  couple  of  months  or  more.  He  spoke  of  the  art 
ist  as  an  honest,  blunt  man,  a  capital  painter,  but  in  a  few 
of  his  Spanish  pictures  had  committed  the  error  of  intro- 


WASHINGTON   IRVING.  83 

ducing  Scotch  accessories.  "When  in  Madrid  they  walked 
a  great  deal  together,  went  into  all  sorts  of  places,  and 
the  painter  was  constantly  taking  sketches.  "  On  one 
occasion,"  said  Mr.  Irving,  "•  when  my  attention  had  been 
attracted  by  a  gaudily  dressed  group  of  soldiers  and 
women.  I  turned  to  him  and  said,  'There,  Wilkie,  there's 
something  very  fine  ! '  He  looked  attentively  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  shaking  his  head,  hastily  replied, "  Too  costumy, 
too  costnmy.'  The  fact  was  he  delighted  more  in  the 
rich  brown  of  old  rags,  than  he  did  in  the  bright  colors  of 
new  lace  and  new  cloth." 

Speaking  to  Mr.  Irving  of  a  headache  with  which  I  was 
suffering,  he  remarked  that  was  a  thing  which  he  had  never 
experienced.  Indeed,  he  thought  that  no  man  had  ever  lived 
so  long  a  life  as  he  had  with  fewer  aches  and  pains.  He 
mentioned  the  singular  fact  that  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years,  from  1822  to  1842,  he  had  not  been  conscious  of 
the  least  bodilv  suffering.  A  good  dinner  was  a  thing  he 
had  always  enjoyed,  but  he  liked  it  plain  and  well  cooked. 
In  early  life  he  was  very  fond  of  walking,  but  owing  to  a 
cutaneous  affection  which  came  upon  him  when  in  Spain, 
his  ankles  were  somewhat  weakened,  and  he  had  since  that 
time  taken  most  of  his  exercise  on  horseback.  This  last 
remark  was  made  in  reply  to  the  surprise  which  Mr.  Cus- 
t'.s  expressed  on  seeing  him  skip  up  a  flight  of  stairs  three 
steps  at  a  time,  and  for  which  he  apologized  by  saying  that 
he  frequently  forgot  himself.  While  alluding  to  his  habits, 
he  remarked  that  a  quiet,  sedentary  life  agreed  with  him, 
and  that  he  often  sat  at  his  writing-table,  when  at  work, 
from  four  to  six  hours,  without  ever  rising  from  his  chair. 
He  also  avowed  himself  a  great  lover  of  sleep.  When  at 
home  he  always  took  a  nap  after  dinner,  but  somehow,  of 
late  years,  he  could  not  sleep  well  at  night.  He  frequently 


84  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

spent  more  than  half  the  night  wakeful,  and  at  such  times 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  reading  a  great  deal.  He  said  he 
really  envied  the  man  who  could  sleep  soundly. 

I  had  a  short  talk  with  Mr.  Irving  about  the  copyright 
treaty,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Messrs.  Webster  and 
Crampton,  and  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Everett.  He 
did  not  believe  it  would  be  ratified  by  the  Senate,  and 
spoke  in  rather  severe  terms  of  the  want  of  intelligence, 
on  purely  literary  matters,  of  that  distinguished  body ; 
and  also  of  the  conduct  of  certain  publishers,  who  are 
doing  all  they  can  to  prevent  the  ratification  of  the  treaty. 

An  incident  related  by  Mr.  Irving,  going  to  illustrate 
the  character  of  Andrew  Jackson,  was  to  this  effect :  — 

When  secretary  of  legation  at  St.  James,  in  1831,  he 
was  left  by  Mr.  McLane  to  represent  the  country  in  the 
capacity  of  charge  d'affaires  for  a  period  of  three  months. 
During  that  time  the  coronation  of  William  the  Fourth 
took  place,  and  his  expenses  were  unusually  heavy.  When 
he  came  home  he  presented  a  claim  for  one  hundred  pounds, 
which  wras  a  smaller  sum  than  he  had  expended.  The 
President  said  there  was  no  law  providing  for  such  claims, 
but  ordered  the  pay  of  a  charge  for  the  time  employed. 
And  he  did  receive  it,  —  a  sum  amounting  to  more  than 
twice  what  had  been  prayed  for. 

Mr.  Irving's  feelings  have  recently  been  very  much  hurt 
by  discovering  a  note  attached  to  one  of  his  letters  from 
Madrid  to  the  Department  of  State,  to  the  effect  that  Mr. 
McLane  told  Mr.  Trist,  that  he  (Mr.  I.)  originated  the 
idea  of  Spain's  offering  to  mediate  between  the  govern 
ments  of  the  United  States  and  Mexico  during  the  war  of 
1840.  The  letter  in  question  states  explicitly  that  General 
Sauuders,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Irving  as  minister  to  Spain, 
asked  him  to  speak  to  the  Spanish  government  on  the  sub- 


WASHINGTON   IRVING.  85 

ject.  He  agreed  with  General  Saunders,  and  thought  it  a 
good  opportunity  for  Spain  to  do  something  handsome,  but 
th«  idea  did  not  originate  with  him.  The  pencil  note  on 
the  letter  contradicts  this,  and  Mr.  Irving  lias  been  further 
grieved  by  finding  that  General  Saunders,  in  his  despatches, 
makes  no  acknowledgment  of  the  fact  that  he  requested 
Mr.  Irving,  as  then  a  private  citizen,  to  suggest  the  idea 
unofficially  to  the  Spanish  government. 

During  our  morning's  conversation  we  touched  upon  the 
city  of  Washington,  and  in  speaking  of  its  u  magnificent 
distances,"  Mr.  Irving  was  both  amusing  and  severe  upon 
those  who  laid  it  out.  Dining-out  here,  which  business  had 
been  near  killing  him,  was  very  disagreeable ;  large  par 
ties  particularly  so.  "  You  generally  have  to  take  your 
seat,"  said  he,  "  at  six  o'clock,  and  as  you  are  sure  to  be 
seated  by  the  side  of  some  one  whom  you  never  saw  or 
heard  of,  with  whom  you  must  keep  up  a  constant  talk  for 
three  hours,  the  time  thus  wasted  is  annoying  in  the  ex 
treme,  and  the  ostentatious  courses  were  so  regular."  By 
watching  the  dishes  he  could  tell  exactly  how  far  the  enter 
tainment  had  advanced.  And  everywhere  the  food  was 
cooked  in  precisely  one  manner.  He  thought  that  one  man 
did  the  cooking  for  the  entire  town  ;  that  one  vintage  sup 
plied  the  wine,  and  one  confectioner  the  fancy  articles  in 
that  line,  for  they  were  always  stamped  with  one  name. 

But  enough.  Though  not  afraid  to  tire  you  with  pleas 
ant  reminiscences  of  a  man  universally  honored  and  be 
loved,  my  selfishness  and  modesty  prompt  me  to  reserve  a 
portion  of  my  notes  of  Mr.  Irving's  conversation  for  fu 
ture  consideration.  A  few  of  his  statements  bearing  upon 
the  truth  of  history  were  full  of  interest. 
Yours  very  truly, 

CHARLES  LANMAN. 

PETER  FORCE,  Esq.,  Washington. 


86  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

The  subjoined  correspondence  is  intended  chiefly  for  my 
personal  friends,  and  for  those  who  feel  so  great  an  inter 
est  in  Washington  Irving  that  they  read  everything  from 
his  pen  with  pleasure.  Should  my  modesty  be  questioned 
for  printing  it  in  this  place,  I  can  only  reply  that  it  was 
the  "  Sketch-Book  "  which  originally  incited  me  to  ventuiv 
upon  the  pleasures  and  the  dangers  of  authorship  ;  and 
that,  next  to  doing  some  little  good,  my  limited  ambition 
has  been  to  please  my  readers  ;  and  having  succeeded  in 
pleasing  the  Father  of  American  Literature,  I  have  a  right 
to  be  gratified  and  thankful.  But  the  letters  which  follow, 
exhibiting  the  writer  as  a  friend,  bring  out  here  and  there 
a  few  interesting  points  of  character  which  I  consider  the 
rightful  property  of  the  public,  and  I  submit  them  pre- 
ciseh7  as  they  were  written  and  without  any  comments  of 

my  own :  — 

SUNNYSIDE  Oct.  15,  1847, 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  would  not  reply  to  your  very  obliging 
letter  of  Sept.  10,  until  1  had  time  to  read  the  volumes 
which  accompanied  it.  This,  from  the  pressure  of  various 
engagements,  I  have  but  just  been  able  to  do  ;  and  I  now 
return  you  thanks  for  the  delightful  entertainment  which 
your  summer  rambles  have  afforded  me.  I  do  not  see  that 
I  have  any  literary  advice  to  give  you,  excepting  to  keep 
on  as  you  have  begun.  You  seem  to  have  the  happy,  en 
joyable  humor  of  old  Izaak  Walton.  1  anticipate  great 
success,  therefore,  in  your  "  Essays  on  our  American 
Fishes,"  and  on  "Angling,"  which  I  trust  will  give  us  still 
further  scenes  and  adventures  on  our  great  internal  waters, 
depicted  with  the  freshness  and  graphic  skill  of  your  pres 
ent  volumes.  In  fact,  the  adventurous  life  of  the  angler, 
amidst  our  wild  scenery,  on  our  vast  lakes  and  rivers,  must 
furnish  a  striking  contrast  to  the  quiet  loiterings  of  the 


WASHINGTON    IRVING.  87 

English  angler  along  the  Trent  or  Dove,  with  country 
milkmaids  to  sing  madrigals  to  him,  and  a  snug,  decent 
country  inn  at  night,  where  he  may  sleep  in  sheets  that 
have  been  laid  in  lavender. 

With  best  wishes  for  your  success,  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 
Very  truly,  your  obliged, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  Dec.  21, 1852. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  delayed  answering  your  letter 
until  I  could  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  work  which 
was  to  have  accompanied  it,  and  which  has  just  come  to 
hand,  having  been  lying  in  the  office  of  my  nephew  in  New 
York. 

I  have  been  reading  it  with  great  interest  and  satisfac 
tion.  The  peculiar  features  which  it  gives,  of  Mr.  Web 
ster  in  domestic  life  and  at  his  rural  home,  are  extremely 
endearing  and  calculated  to  enhance  the  admiration  caused 
by  his  great  talents,  and  eminent  services  in  his  public 
career. 

Accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  work,  and  for  the  kind 
expressions  of  your  letter,  and  believe  me, 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obliged  friend  and  servant, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  Jan.  23,  1853. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  you  intend  to 
publish  your  narrative  and  descriptive  writings  in  a  col 
lected  form.  I  have  read  parts  of  them  as  they  were  pub 
lished  separately,  and  the  great  pleasure  derived  from  the 
perusal  makes  me  desirous  of  having  the  whole  in  my 
possession.  They  carry  us  into  the  fastnesses  of  our  moun- 


88  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

tains,  the  depths  of  our  forests,  the  watery  wilderness  of 
our  lakes  and  rivers,  giving  us  pictures  of  savage  life  and 
savage  tribes,  Indian  legends,  fishing  and  hunting  anec 
dotes,  the  adventures  of  trappers  and  backwoodsmen  ;  our 
whole  arcanum,  in  short,  of  indigenous  poetry  and  ro 
mance  ;  to  use  a  favorite  phrase  of  the  old  discoverers, 
4<  they  lay  open  the  secrets  of  the  country  to  us." 

I  cannot  but  believe  your  work  will  be  well  received,  and 
meet  with  the  wide  circulation  which  it  assuredly  merits. 

With  best  wishes  for  your  success,  I  remain,  my  dear 
sir,  Yours,  very  truly, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  Aug.  24, 1855. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  your 
kind  offer  to  borrow  for  me  the  newspapers  containing  ac 
counts  of  the  death  and  funeral  of  Washington,  but  will 
not  task  your  kindness  in  that  respect,  as  I  have  at  hand 
copious  details  of  those  events  in  the  volumes  of  contem 
porary  newspapers  in  the  New  York  libraries. 

I  shall  be  most  happy  to  see  Mrs.  Lanman  and  yourself 
at  Sunnyside,  should  your  excursions  bring  you  into  these 
parts.  Yours,  very  truly, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  March  2, 1857. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  — I  am  suffering  a  long  time  to 
elapse  without  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  copy  of 
your  work  which  you  have  had  the  kindness  to  send  me, 
and  expressing  to  you  the  great  delight  I  take  in  the  pe 
rusal  of  it.  But  when  I  remind  you  that  I  am  approach 
ing  my  seventy-fourth  birthday,  that  I  am  laboring  to 


WASHINGTON    IRVING.  89 

launch  the  fourth  volume  of  my  "  Life  of  Washington," 
and  that  my  table  is  loaded  with  a  continually  increasing 
multitude  of  unanswered  letters,  which  I  vainly  endeavor 
to  cope  with,  I  am  sure  you  will  excuse  the  tardiness  of 
my  correspondence. 

I  hope  the  success  of  your  work  has  been  equal  to  its 
merits.  To  me,  your  "Adventures  in  the  Wilds"  is  a 
continual  refreshment  of  the  spirits.  I  take  a  volume  of 
your  work  to  bed  with  me,  after  fagging  with  my  pen,  and 
then  ramble  with  you  among  the  mountains  and  by  the 
streams,  in  the  boundless  interior  of  our  fresh,  unhackneyed 
country,  and  only  regret  that  I  can  but  do  so  in  idea,  and 
that  I  am  not  young  enough  to  be  your  companion  in  real 
ity.  I  have  taken  great  interest  of  late  in  your  expedi 
tions  among  the  Alleghany  Mountains ;  having  been 
campaigning  in  my  icork  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Caro- 
linas,  especially  in  the  Catawba  country,  about  which  you 
give  such  graphic  sketchings.  Really,  I  look  upon  your 
work  as  avade  mecum  to  the  American  lover  of  the  pictur 
esque  and  romantic,  unfolding  to  him  the  wilderness  of 
beauties  and  the  varieties  of  adventurous  life  to  be  found 
in  our  great  chains  of  mountains  and  systems  of  lakes 
and  rivers.  You  are,  in  fact,  the  picturesque  explorer  of 
our  country. 

With  great  regard,  my  dear  Mr.  Lanman, 
Yours,  very  truly, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  May  9,  1857. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  —  I  have  been  too  thoroughly 
occupied  in  getting  a  volume  of  my  work  through  the 
press  to  acknowledge  at  an  earlier  date  your  letter  of 
March  24. 


90  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Respecting  your  letter,  which  has  found  its  way  into  the 
Intelligencer,  I  can  only  say  that  I  wish  you  had  had  a 
worthier  subject  for  your  biographic  pen,  or  that  I  had 
known  our  conversation  was  likely  to  be  recorded.  I 
should  then  have  tasked  myself  to  say  some  wise  or  witty 
things  to  be  given  as  specimens  of  my  off-hand  table  talk. 
Men  should  always  know  when  they  are  sitting  for  a  por 
trait,  that  they  may  endeavor  to  look  handsomer  than 
themselves,  and  attitudinize. 

I  am  scrawling  this  in  great  haste,  merely  that  your  let 
ter  may  not  remain*  longer  unacknowledged,  and  am  very 
truly,  Your  friend, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  Aug.  24,  1858. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  — I  have  no  intention  of  being 
absent  from  home  early  in  September,  and  will  be  most 
happy  to  receive  a  visit  from  you  at  Sunny  side. 

I  will  procure  the  information  you  desire  respecting  my 
brother  William,  from  his  son,  Mr.  Pierre  M.  Irving,  wrhen 
he  returns  from  an  excursion  lie  is  making. 
Yours  very  truly, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

SUNNYSIDE,  March  28,  1859. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  —  Accept  my  thanks  for  the 
copy  of  your  ''Dictionary  of  Congress,"  which  you  have 
had  the  kindness  to  send  me.  Both  the  conception  and 
the  execution  of  the  work  do  you  great  credit.  It  will 
remain  a  valuable  book  of  reference. 

With  regard  to  my  brother  William,  I  requested  his  son, 
Pierre  M.  Irving,  to  send  you  some  particulars  concerning 


GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH.  91 

him  ;  but  I  find  he  forgot  to  do  so.     Your  notice  of  him, 
notwithstanding,  is  quite  satisfactory. 
With  great  regard, 

Yours  very  truly, 

WASHINGTON  IRVING. 


GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH. 

Mr  acquaintance  with  this  eminent  scholar  and  states 
man  began  in  1844  during  one  of  my  summer  tours  through 
Vermont ;  and  soon  afterwards  I  had  the  pleasure  of  pub 
lishing  a  brief  notice  of  him  in  one  of  my  books. 

From  the  first,  and  probably  because  he  had  known  some 
of  my  family  in  Connecticut,  he  took  an  interest  in  my 
literary  plans,  gave  me  much  sound  advice  in  regard  to 
the  study  of  the  English  language,  and  also  on  matters 
connected  with  art ;  and  when  I  removed  to  Washington  in 
1848,  and  he  was  in  Congress,  his  house  became  to  me  one 
of  the  most  agreeable  and  profitable  resorts  in  the  metrop 
olis.  Indeed,  his  treatment  of  me  was  so  uniformly  kind, 
that  I  consulted  him  in  regard  to  all  my  personal  as  well 
as  literary  affairs  ;  and  as  I  continued  to  enjoy  his  friend 
ship,  often  found  it  diflicult  to  decide  whether  his  great 
learning,  his  sound  practical  common-sense,  rare  integrity, 
or  his  warm-hearted  nature  was  the  predominating  element 
of  his  character.  His  knowledge  of  art,  in  all  its  phases, 
and  especially  the  history  of  engraving,  was  most  com 
plete  ;  and  there  was  a  time  when  his  collection  of  proofs, 
after  the  great  masters  in  that  branch  of  art,  was  the  most 
complete  and  valuable  one  in  this  country  ;  and  it  has 
always  seemed  to  me  since  then  that  there  was  a  special 
propriety  in  his  being  permitted  to  spend  so  many  years 


92  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

of  his  life  in  Italy  as  it  was  his  privilege,  and  where  his 
services  were  eminently  honorable  and  valuable  to  his  coun 
try.  As  a  linguist,  —  for  he  could  write  and  speak  all  the 
leading  ancient  and  modern  languages,  —  and  especially  as 
a  Scandinavian  scholar,  his  fame  has  reached  the  cultivated 
people  of  all  climes  ;  but  it  is  not  so  generally  known  that 
his  library  of  Scandinavian  literature  was  at  one  time  quite 
unique.  To  what  extent  that  collection  has  been  scattered 
I  cannot  tell ;  but  a  portion  of  it  at  least  was  presented 
by  himself  to  the  University  of  Vermont,  and  it  will  be  my 
privilege  presently  to  give  an  idea  of  its  character  as  it 
existed  before  its  owner  entered  the  diplomatic  service. 
Another  portion  of  his  rare  library  consisted  of  several 
thousand  volumes,  and  was  also  presented  to  the  Uni 
versity  through  the  liberality  of  Frederick  Billings,  of 
Woodstock. 

For  more  than  thirty  years  after  1833,  Mr.  Marsh  kept 
up  a  constant  correspondence  with  the  secretary  of  the 
Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians  at  Copenhagen^ — 
Prof.  C.  C.  Rafn.  His  first  letter  was  written  in  English, 
but  all  his  subsequent  letters  were  in  Danish  ;  and  the 
professor  once  remarked  that  he  had  discovered  but  one 
error  in  Mr.  Marsh's  letters,  and  that  was  a  mistake  in  the 
gender  of  a  noun.  He  was  one  of  those  rare  men  whose 
books  do  not  fully  represent  the  man ;  in  his  gifts  and 
character  he  was  above  them  all ;  and  it  was  the  gen 
eral  opinion  of  his  friends  that  he  possessed  one  of  the 
broadest  minds  and  a  most  absorptive  memory.  It  is  also 
said  of  him  that  men  of  science,  army  and  navy  men, 
skilled  mechanics,  naturalists,  and  farmers  have  all  ex 
pressed  surprise  at  his  knowledge  of  the  affairs  to  which 
their  lives  were  devoted.  During  his  residence  in  Greece, 
he  was  authorized  by  his  government  to  defend  Dr.  Jonas 


GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH.  93 

King  from  the  unjust  restrictions  put  upon  him  by  the 
Eastern  authorities ;  and  when  he  delivered  a  certain 
speech  in  modern  Greek,  in  Athens,  the  people  were 
astounded,  and  his  knowledge  of  their  language  added 
greatly  to  his  influence. 

His  sympathies  were  so  completely  with  the  Goths  that 
he  traced  to  their  presence  whatever  was  great  and  peculiar 
in  the  character  of  the  founders  of  New  England.  In  his 
work  on  the  Goths  he  contrasted  the  Gothic  and  Roman 
characters,  which  he  regarded  as  the  great  antagonistic 
principles  of  society  at  the  present  day.  lie  was  not  only 
a  lover  of  Scandinavian  history,  but  the  legends  and  myths 
and  weird  mythology  of  Northern  Europe,  as  well  as  its 
ocean,  coast,  and  mountain  scenery,  had  a  strange  fasci 
nation  to  his  mind,  and  he  was  entirely  familiar  with  them 
all.  Very  few  men  have  exercised  so  great  and  important 
an  influence  on  American  literature  as  Mr.  Marsh  ;  and 
when  we  add  to  his  character  as  an  author  what  he  has 
accomplished  in  the  field  of  diplomacy,  we  may  safely  class 
him  with  the  very  best  and  most  useful  public  men  of  his 
time.  As  minister  to  Turkey  and  Greece,  to  which  posts 
he  was  appointed  by  Presidents  Taylor  and  Fillmore,  and 
to  Italy,  he  served  his  country  with  rare  success  for  more 
than  twenty-four  years,  rendering  essential  service  to  the 
cause  of  religious  toleration  in  the  Turkish  Empire. 

One  of  the  best  appointments  made  by  President  Lin 
coln  was  that  of  Mr.  Marsh  as  minister  to  Italy,  in  1861. 
AVhen  he  came  to  Washington  to  receive  his  credentials,  I 
met  him  frequently,  and  was  honored  by  receiving  again 
from  him  much  valuable  literary  advice.  Many  hints  that 
he  gave  me  about  my  "  Dictionary  of  Congress  "  were  espe 
cially  important.  I  very  well  remember  his  advice  in  regard 
to  style  in  writing,  to  the  effect  that  I  should  study,  with- 


94  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

out  ceasing,  the  books  on  English  synonymes  by  Crabb, 
Blair,  Whately,  Mackenzie,  and  others ;  and,  if  it  had 
been  published  at  the  time,  he  might  have  added  the  great 
work  on  the  English  Language  by  himself.  His  kind  in 
terest  in  my  welfare  continued  without  ceasing,  and  on  the 
day  preceding  his  final  departure  from  Washington  he 
wrote  of  his  own  accord  an  earnest  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  William  II.  Seward,  recommending  my  appoint 
ment  as  librarian  of  the  Department  of  State. 

At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Vallambrosa, 
Rome,  on  the  24th  of  July,  1882,  he  was  in  the  eighty- 
second  year  of  his  age,  having  been  born  in  Woodstock, 
Vt.,  March  15,  1801.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Col 
lege  in  1820  ;  adopted  the  profession  of  law,  but  paid 
more  attention  to  books  than  to  the  practice  of  his  profes 
sion,  which  he  might  have  made  lucrative  ;  entered  the 
State  Legislature  in  1825,  and  Congress,  as  a  representa 
tive,  in  1842  ;  first  went  abroad  as  minister  to  Turkey  in 
1849;  went  to  Greece  on  a  special  mission  in  1852;  and 
represented  the  United  States  as  a  diplomat  for  a  longer 
period  —  continuously  —  than  any  other  man,  not  except 
ing  Benjamin  Franklin  ;  and  while  the  heroic  State  of  Ver 
mont  may  well  be  proud  of  such  names  as  Allen,  Bradley, 
Collamer,  Everett,  Foot,  Hull,  Lyon,  Phelps,  and  Ed 
munds,  the  name  of  Marsh  will  do  more  to  perpetuate 
her  literary  fame  than  those  of  all  her  other  children 
combined. 

My  correspondence  with  Mr.  Marsh  was  quite  extensive, 
and  from  the  many  letters  in  my  possession  I  submit  the 
following,  which  contains  a  description  of  his  Scandina 
vian  library  ;  and  although  it  may  not  interest  the  average 
reader,  as  a  catalogue  written  out  at  one  heat,  from  mem 
ory,  it  is  to  my  mind  a  most  remarkable  production  :  — 


GEORGE    PERKINS   MARSH.  95 

BURLINGTON,  Aug.  11, 1844. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Since  I  hud  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you  at 
Danville,  I  have  spent  but  three  days  at  home,  and  have 
not  had  time  to  comply  with  your  request  in  regard  to  a 
description  of  my  little  collection  of  books  and  engravings. 

I  have  never  made  a  catalogue  of  either,  and  must,  there 
fore,  in  the  hurried  account  I  now  give,  rely  upon  memory, 
especially  as  my  engravings  are  chiefly  at  Washington. 
My  library  consists  of  something  less  than  five  thousand 
volumes,   and   is   such  a    heterogeneous   collection    as   of 
course  so  small  a  one,  if  suited  at  all  to  the  purposes  of  a 
scholar  of  rather  multifarious  than  profound  reading,  ne 
cessarily  must  be.     It  is  meagre  in  all  departments  except 
that    of    Scandinavian    literature,    in     which    I     suppose 
it  to  be   more  complete  than  any  collection   out   of  the 
northern  kingdoms.     In  old  northern  literature  it  contains 
all  the  Arna-Magnaean  editions  of  the  Icelandic  Sagas,  all 
those  of  Suhum,  all  those  of  the  RoN'al  Society  of  North 
ern  Antiquaries,  and,  in  fact,  all  those  printed  at  Copen 
hagen  and  Stockholm,  as  well  as  in  Iceland,  with  scarcely 
an  exception.     I  possess  also  the  great  editions  of  "  He- 
imskringla,"    the    two     k' Eddas,"     "  Kongs-Skugg-Sjo," 
"•Konunga  Styrilse,"  the  "  Scriptores  Rerum  Danicarum," 

II  Scriptores  Rerum  Svecicarum."  "  Dansk  Magasin,"  the 
two  complete  editions  of    "  Olaus  Magnus   Saxo  Gram-, 
maticus,"  the  works  of  Barsholinus  Torfa?us,   Scheming, 
Suhuii,  Pontoppidan,  Grundtvig,  Petersen,  Rask,  the  "At- 
lantica"  of  Rudbeck,  the  great  works  of  SjoborgSiljegren, 
Geijer,  Cronholm,  and  Strinnholm,  all  the  collections  of 
old  Icelandic,  Danish,  and  Swedish  laws,  and  almost  all 
the  writers,  ancient  and  modern,  who  have  treated  of  the 
language,  literature,  or  history  of  the  ancient  Scandina 
vian  race.     In  modern  Danish  literature  I  have  the  works 


96  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

of  Holberg,  Ewald,  Hejberg,  Baggesen,  Ochlenschlreger, 
Ingemaun,  Nyerup,  with  other  celebrated  authors ;  in 
Swedish,  those  of  Leopold,  Oxenstje'riia,  Bellmann,  Fran- 
zen,  Atterborn,  Tegner,  Frederika  Bremer,  and  indeed 
almost  all  the  belles-lettres  authors  of  Sweden,  the  transla 
tions  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Science  (more  than  one 
hundred  volumes),  those  of  the  Swedish  Academy,  and  of 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Literature,  and  many  collections  in 
documentary  history,  besides  numerous  other  works.  In 
Spanish  and  Portuguese,  besides  many  modern  authors,  I 
have  numerous  old  chronicles,  such  as  the  Madrid  collec 
tion  of  old  "Spanish  Chronicles"  in  7  vols.  4to,  the 
"Portuguese  Livros  ineditas  da  Historia  Portugueza,"  5 
vols.  folio,  Ternam  Lopez,  de  Brito  Duarte  Nunez  do 
Liam,  Damiam  de  Goes,  de  Barros  and  Conto,  Albuquer 
que,  Castenheda,  Resende,  Andrada,  Osorio,  also  de 
Menezes,  Mariana,  Powz  Viagede  Espana,  Navarrette  and 
others  ;  in  Italian,  most  of  the  best  authors  who  have  ac 
quired  a  European  reputation  ;  several  hundred  volumes 
of  French  works,  including  many  of  the  old  Chroniclers ; 
a  respectable  collection  in  German,  including  many  edi 
tions  of  "  Reyneke  de  Vos,"  the  u  Nibelungen,"  and  other 
works  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  in  classical  literature,  good 
editions  of  the  most  celebrated  Greek  and  Latin  authors  ; 
and  in  English,  a  respectable  collection  of  the  best  authors, 
among  which  I  may  notice,  as  rare  in  this  country,  many  of 
the  old  Chroniclers  (including  LordBerner's  "Froissart"), 
Roger  Ascham,  the  works  of  King  James  I.,  John  Smith's 
"Virginia"  (edition  of  1G24),  Amadis  de  Gaul,  and 
Palmerian  of  England.  In  lexicography,  I  have  the  best 
dictionaries  and  grammars  in  all  the  languages  of  Western 
Europe,  and  many  biographical  dictionaries  and  other 
works  of  reference  in  various  languages.  I  have  also 


GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH.  97 

many  works  on  astrology,  alchemy,  witchcraft,  and  magic, 
and  a  considerable  collection  of  works  on  the  situation  of 
Plato's  "Atlantic"  and  the  "  Elysian  Fields,"  such  as 
Rudbeck's  "  Atlantica,"  "  Goropius  Becanus,"  "  De  Grave 
Kepublique  des  Champs  Ulysees,"  "  Ramus  Ulysses  et 
Othinus  uuus  et  idem,"  and  others. 

In  the  department  of  art,  I  have  the  "Musee  Fra9nais," 
"  Musee  Royal"  (proof  before  letters),  "  Liber  Yeritatis," 
"  Houghton  Gallery,"  "Florence  Gallery,"  "Publications 
of  Dilettanti  Society,"  and  many  other  illustrated  works 
and  collections  of  engravings ;  the  works  of  Bartsch, 
Ottley,  Mengs,  most  of  those  of  Visconti,  Winckelmaun, 
with  numerous  other  writers  on  the  history  and  theory  of 
art ;  old  illustrated  works,  among  which  I  may  mention 
"Leuerdanck"  (original  edition),  and  "  Der  Weiss  Ru- 
nig" ;  and  many  thousand  steel  engravings,  including 
many  originals  by  Albert  Durer,  Luke  of  Leyden,  Cra- 
nach,  Aldegreuer,  Wierx,  the  Sadelers,  Nautenil  (among 
others  a  first  imjiression  of  the  celebrated  "  Louis  XIV.," 
of  the  size  of  life),  Nasson,  and  among  these  a  first  im 
pression  of  the  famous  "  Courte  d'Harconrt,"  or  Cadet  a 
la  Perle,  Edelink,  Drenet,  Marc  Antonio,  and  other  old 
engravers,  of  the  Italian  school;  Callot,  Ostade,  Rem 
brandt  (including a  most  superb  impression  of  the  "Christ 
Healing  the  Sick,"  or  the  hundred-guilder  piece,  the 
"  Goldeneigher,"  and  the  portrait  of  "  Renier  Ansloo"), 
Waterloo,  Woolett,  Sharp,  Schmidt,  Longhi,  andMorghen  ; 
in  short,  more  or  less  of  the  works  of  all  the  greatest 
masters  in  chalcography,  from  the  time  of  Albert  Diirer 
to  the  present  day. 

The  above  is  a  very  imperfect  account,  but  I  really  have 
not  time  to  make  out  a  more  complete  one. 

Mrs.  Peck  desired  to  retain  a  few  days  the  volume  you 
7 


98  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

left  with  her,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  has  not  yet  sent  it 
home,  and,  of  course,  I  have  not  seen  it.  As  soon  as  I 
can  get  time  to  look  it  over,  I  will  write  you  on  the  subject. 
The  pictures*  Mr.  Peck  took  appear  to  me,  though  not 
highly  finished,  to  indicate  much  artistic  talent ;  and  I 
trust  you  will  pursue  your  profession  with  an  ardor  as 
inexhaustible  as  Nature  herself.  A  little  study  of  natural 
history,  particularly  of  botany,  on  the  natural  system, 
geology  (read  Lyell's  "Principles"),  and  meteorology 
(see  the  works  of  Luke  Howard,  late  editions),  would 
prove  of  the  greatest  service  to  you,  and  as  an  aid  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  eye  would  be  beyond  all  price.  Don't 
be  led  astray  by  Hazlitt,  who  was  but  a  coxcomb  in  mat 
ters  of  art,  after  all.  No  Englishman  ever  had,  or  can 
have,  a  true  idea  on  the  theory  of  art. 

Mrs.  Marsh,  who  has  travelled  with  me  some  eight 
hundred  miles  in  an  open  wagon  without  benefit  to  her 
eyes,  sends  her  compliments.  I  shall  at  all  times  be  glad 
to  hear  from  you,  and  to  be  of  use  to  you  in  any  way  in 
my  power.  I  hope  I  may  be  more  at  leisure  when  I  next 
have  occasion  to  write.  Keep  in  mind  the  distinction 
between  the  art  of  seeing  and  the  faculty  of  sight,  for 
herein  lies  the  difference  between  the  artist  and  the  man. 
I  am,  dear  sir,  truly  yours, 

GEORGE  P.  MARSH. 

P.  S.  My  Icelandic  grammar  is  a  12mo  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pages,  partly  original,  partly  compiled  from  the 
works  of  Rusk,  and  was  printed  about  six  years  since,  but 
never  published. 

With  regard  to  the  final  disposition  of  his  library  and 
proof  engravings,  a  part  of  them  was  secured  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  at  the  time  he  went  to  Europe  to 


GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH.  99 

reside,  but  the  largest  and  most  valuable  part,  I  believe, 
was  retained  in  his  possession. 

The  allusion  to  Danville,  in  the  foregoing  letter,  recalls 
to  my  mind  one  of  the  most  delightful  mountain  trips  of 
my  long  experience  in  such  matters.  It  was  inaugurated 
by  Mr.  Marsh  himself,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  her  sister,  and  also  by  Senator  S.  8.  Phelps,  and  the 
grateful  deponent.  With  all  his  natural  sedateness,  Mr. 
Marsh  was  the  life  of  the  party,  but  the  famous  senatorial 
orator  said  many  things  which  were  enjoyable  in  the 
extreme.  The  scenery  that  we  passed  through,  made  up 
of  views  along  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  of  the  Green 
and  White  Mountains,  was  very  beautiful,  and  every 
locality  of  special  interest,  like  Danville  itself,  was  made 
doubly  interesting  by  some  historical  fact  or  story  or  per 
sonal  incident  related  by  Mr.  Marsh.  Everything  in 
nature  attracted  his  attention,  —  hills,  rivers,  trees,  way 
side  plants  and  flowers,  the  birds,  and  even  the  butterflies 
that  flitted  in  the  sunbeams  ;  and  when  not  talking  after 
the  manner  of  an  artist,  his  comments  were  those  of  a 
philosopher.  When,  as  was  sometimes  the  case,  the 
senator  made  an  allusion  to  public  men  and  affairs,  he 
would  expatiate  upon  the  doings  of  Congress  ;  and  when 
he  mentioned  certain  prominent  names,  I  wondered,  in  my 
boyish  simplicity,  whether  Senator  Phelps  was  an  average 
specimen  of  the  great  men  of  America,  not  knowing  that 
very  few  of  them  were  his  equal  in  intellect  and  character ; 
and  it  now  seems  to  me  like  a  dream  that  it  should  have 
been  my  fate,  in  process  of  time,  to  "  take  the  lives  "  of 
at  least  five  thousand  of  those  wonderful  congressmen, 
before  the  class  had  degenerated  to  what  we  see  it  in 
these  demagogue  days. 

In  the  way  of  art  criticism,  the  following  letter,  with 


100  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

its  amusing  parentheses,  may  be  deemed  interesting,  and 
is  certainly  instructive  :  — 

BURLINGTON,  April  21, 1847. 

Dear  Sir,  —  You  will  find  a  daguerreotype  of  Weir's 
Pilgrim  picture  at  Anthony's  rooms,  Broadway,  next 
square  above  the  Astor  House.  This  will  give  you  a  good 
idea  of  the  picture,  and,  what  is  fortunate,  covers  the 
great  and  fatal  errors,  not  of  coloring,  but  of  arrange 
ment  of  colors,  in  the  picture  itself. 

Healy's  excellences  are  manifold.  I  have  only  seen 
his  portraits.  In  these  he  is  successful  far  above  any 
living  American  artist  in  seizing  and  portraying  the  best 
characteristic  expression  of  his  sitter.  With  apparent 
(only  apparent)  carelessness  of  outline  and  finish,  he  is 
the  only  living  American  painter  known  to  me  who  gives 
to  the  skin  the  semi-transparency,  the  partial  permeability 
to  light,  which  all  untanned  (I  don't  mean  un-sitn-tanned, 
but  un-oa&-&arfc-tanned)  human  skins  more  or  less  pos 
sess.  Look  at  one  of  his  faces  ;  you  see  therein  a  skin, 
not  of  painted  tin,  but  organized  with  cuticle  rete  mucosum 
veins  (not  varicose,  neither),  and  the  Devil  and  all,  just 
as  in  life.  What  is  more,  under  that  same  skin  there  is 
flesh,  muscle ;  more  yet,  beneath  the  integuments  is  a 
skull,  and  that  not  of  plaster,  but  real  bone  made  of 
phosphate  of  lime  (I  believe  it  is),  and  what  not.  His 
portrait  of  myself  (the  greater  the  subject  the  greater 
the  work)  is  his  opus  magnum*  (that's  Latin  for  chef 

*NOTE. — You  are  a  young  writer.  Learn  to  profit  by  the 
example  of  your  seniors.  Observe  how  skilfully,  after  having 
spoken  somewhat  boastfully,  perhaps,  of  myself,  I  suddenly 
draw  the  attention  of  my  correspondent  away,  and  prevent  him 
from  dwelling  on  this  little  outburst  of  vanity,  —  shall  I  call  it? 


GEORGE  PERKINS  MARSH.  101 

d'ceuvre,  and  that  is  French  for  masterpiece,  which,  again, 
is  as  one  should  say  in  your  vernacular,  Pottawattamie  — 
no-gum-go-qua.  Perhaps  that  is  n't  the  word  ;  I  am  not 
quite  sure.  If  not,  I  am  liberal,  make  it  right),  or  there 
abouts.  A  good  anatomist  shall  take  that  portrait  and 
draw  (supposing  him  a  draughtsman)  a  skull  therefrom, 
which  shall  be  a  true  counterfeit  presentment  of  mine  own 
hereafter,  at  some  late  day  (not,  I  hope,  before  A.  D.  11)47) , 
to  be  exhibited,  like  Oliver  Cromwell's,  in  some  cranial 
museum.  More  things  I  have  to  say,  hut  not  time.  Wait 
until  1  write  you  again  from  Boston,  on  Thursday  (may 
be  Friday),  this  day  eight  days  (my  wife  will  be  there), 
when  I  will  rewrite  and  expand  (I'll  keep  a  copy  and 
perhaps  spoil,  as  Charles  Lamb  did  when  he  extended  his 
letter  about  the  pig  to  the  essay  on  Roast  Pig)  this  letter. 
One  thing  more.  Speaking  of  guns,  don't  forget  to  say 
that  an  anonymous  gentleman  (videlicet  myself),  being 
asked  to  visit  Leutze's  libellous  picture  of  the  Iconoclast 
Puritans,  refused,  saying,  he  had  read  so  many  printed 
lies  about  the  Puritans  that  he  did  not  care  to  see  a 
painted  one.  When  J  write  again,  I  shall  say  more  of 
Weir  as  well  as  of  Healy. 

Yours  truly, 
*  GEORGE  P.  MARSH. 

P.  8.     I  thank  you  prospectively  for  the  book ;  also, 
don't  get  too  strongly  committed  for  Clay. 

—  by  imputing  to  him  some  very  recondite  and  valuable  philo 
logical  information.  If  you  work  on  art,  I  ...  should  tempt 
you  to  speak  all  too  flatteringly  of  Lanman,  late  landscape 
painter.  My  own  example  herein  may  at  the  least  furnish  you 
valuable  hints  as  to  the  mode  of  doing  yourself  (what  perhaps 
others  won't)  justice  in  nn  inoffensive  way. 


162  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Iii  the  following  letter  he  continues  his  criticisms  on 
art :  — 

FITCIIBURG,  May  G,  1847. 

Dear  Sir,  —  When  I  sent  you  that  hurried  scrawl  from 
Burlington,  I  faithfully  purposed  to  write  you  more  at 
length  from  Boston,  where  I  hoped  to  meet  both  I  leal  v 
and  his  works  ;  and  truly  I  had  done  so,  but  the  cares  of 
this  world  sprung  up  and  prevented  me. 

I  saw  at  Boston  neither  Healy  nor  any  of  his  pictures, 
nor  have  I  much  to  add  to  what  I  wrote  before,  except 
that  his  friends  agree  in  saying  that  he  is  rapidly  improv 
ing.  You  know,  I  suppose,  that  he  is  engaged  upon  a 
great  picture,  "  Webster  Replying  to  Ilayne,"  for  gentle 
men  in  Boston.  I  have  seen  the  sketch,  which  seems  to 
promise  much  for  the  picture,  as  well  as  many  of  the  por 
traits  painted  as  studies,  and  have  no  doubt  that  as  a 
strictly  historical  (not  imaginative,  which,  from  the  nature 
of  the  subject  and  the  nearness  of  the  period  of  the  ac 
tion,  it  can  be  to  but  a  very  limited  extent)  picture,  it  will 
rank  above  anything  American  art  has  produced.  The 
locality  —  the  Senate  Chamber  —  is  not  a  very  picturesque 
one,  but  the  draperies  of  the  ladies'  shawls  and  other  femi 
nine  gear  may  be  so  used  as  to  break  the  stiffness  of  the 
gallery;  and  there  is  room  for  much  variety  in  the  ar 
rangement  and  grouping  of  the  audience,  as  well  as  in  the 
management  of  light  and  shade.  The  study  of  Webster 
himself  is  much  the  best  likeness  of  that  wonderful  head 
yet  painted. 

One  of  his  best  things  is  his  Jackson,  painted  during 
the  last  four  days  of  the  old  man's  life.  Painful  it  is,  of 
course,  as  any  truthful  representation  of  a  dying  man  must 
be,  but  it  is  of  rare  excellence.  It  is  a  front  view,  one 
side  of  the  face  in  shade,  most  capitally  transparent,  and 


GEORGE    PERKINS    MARSH.  103 

in  coloring,  expression,  attitude,  drapery,  most  admirably 
harmonious.  You  may  see  a  good  miniature  copy  at 
Dubourjal's  room,  Broadway.  The  original,  as  well  as 
many  others  of  his  best  portraits,  was  painted  for  King 
Louis  Philippe,  who  has  been  a  very  liberal  patron  to 
Healy. 

You  have  by  this  time  seen  the  daguerreotype  copy  of 
Weir's  picture,  and  I  need  say  nothing  of  the  drawing  or 
composition.  It  was  at  first  placed  in  the  worst  light  in 
the  Kotunda,  but  a  very  judicious  exchange  was  made  last 
spring  between  Weir's  painting,  and  that  poor  bald  daub 
of  Chapman's,  by  which  both  were  great  gainers,  — Weir's 
being  seen  to  much  better  advantage,  and  Chapman's  no 
longer  in  danger  of  being  seen  at  all.  The  principal  crit 
icism  on  this  picture,  which  the  daguerreotype  will  not 
suggest  to  you,  is  the  extremely  faulty  arrangement  of  the 
colors,  the  centre  of  the  piece  and  of  the  action,  which 
should  also  be  the  focus  of  attraction,  being  colored  in 
one  almost  uniform  stone  dead,  dark,  gloomy,  repulsive 
tone,  and  all  the  warm  and  pleasing  colors  thrown  to  the 
extremities,  the  circumference  of  the  canvas.  If  this 
capital  error  had  been  avoided,  and  the  stiff  attitude  and 
awkward  pose  of  the  head  of  one  of  the  kneeling  male 
figures  (I  have  forgotten  the  name)  corrected,  I  think  the 
picture  would  have  been  universally  allowed  to  possess 
merit  of  a  very  high  order. 

I  ii in  now  on  my  way  to  Burlington,  and  hope  to  find 
your  book  there  on  my  arrival. 

Yours  truly, 

GEORGE  P.  MARSH. 

Having  sent  a  copy,  soon  after  its  appearance,  of  Mr. 
Marsh's  book  on  the  "  Camel,"  to  the  London  "Athenaeum," 


104  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  the  review  which  followed  haying  been  sent  by  me  to 
the  author,  he  returned  the  following  reply  :  — 

BURLINGTON,  Sept.  21, 1856. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  sending  me 
the  "Athenaeum,"  more  still  for  writing  the  review  of  my 
little  book,  if  indeed  you  did  write  it.  The  probability 
that  you  might  have  done  so  struck  me  at  first ;  but  upon 
reperusing  the  article,  it  seemed  to  me  so  English  in  its 
tone  that  I  hardly  thought  it  could  be  the  work  of  a  brother 
Yankee.  I  believe  it  has  been  favorably  mentioned  in  the 
critical  notices  in  the  "  North  American  Review,"  but  that  I 
have  not  seen.  With  that  exception,  none  of  the  critiques 
upon  it,  except  this  in  the  "Athenaeum"  (though  some  of 
them  have  been  complimentary  enough) ,  have  shown  any 
intelligent  appreciation  of  the  character  of  the  book.  It 
is  odd  that  nobody  here  had  the  wit  to  perceive  that  I  was 
quoting  myself  in  my  extracts.  Now  that  it  has  an  Eng 
lish  mark  of  appreciation,  it  may  sell  better.  Hitherto 
there  has  been  no  demand  for  it. 

I  am  glad  you  are  collecting  your  works  in  a  more  per 
manent  form.  I  suppose  you  don't  spare  the  labor  of 
revision  and  improvement.  Not  that  your  writings  par 
ticularly  need  it,  but  as  Widow  Bedott  says,  "Us  are  all, 
poor  creatures,"  and  perhaps  you  may  have  nodded  some 
times,  as  well  as  the  blind  old  heathen  Homer. 

Well,  Fremont  will  be  elected,  won't  he  ?  Fine  stampede 
at  Washington  about  the  4th  of  March  next !  How  the 
rats  will  come  and  go  ! 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

GEORGE  P.  MARSH. 

When,  in  1858,  I  was  preparing  for  publication  the  first 
edition  of  my  "Dictionary  of  Congress,"  I  appealed  t> 


GEORGE   PERKINS   MARSH.  105 

Mr.  Marsh  for  some  facts  about  certain  Vermont  men,  and 
he  sent  me  the  following  reply  :  — 

22  UNIVERSITY  PLACE,  NEW  YORK, 
Dec.  14,  1858. 

Dear  Lanman,  —  Yours  of  the  3d  did  not  reach  me  till 
four  or  live  days  after  its  date,  and  the  eyesight  which 
an  inflammation  of  the  eye  has  left  at  my  disposal  lias 
been  so  completely  absorbed  in  the  preparation  of  my 
lectures,  that  I  have  been  unable  to  reply  till  now. 

The  two  Ileman  Aliens  were  remotely  connected  with 
each  other,  and  both,  I  believe  (II.  Allen,  of  Colchester, 
minister  to  Chili,  who  died  at  Ilighgate,  certainly),  with 
the  Ethan  Allen  family,  but  I  have  at  hand  uot7ting  to 
which  I  can  refer  to  fix  any  fact,  in  relation,  with  precision. 
Heman  Allen,  of  Colchester,  was  17.  S.  marshal,  member 
of  Congress,  and  minister  to  Chili,  but  never  distinguished 
for  anything.  Ileman  Allen,  of  Milton  (afterwards  of 
Bennington) ,  was  an  eminent  lawyer,  elected  to  Congress 
in  1832,  on  the  eleventh  ballot  (the  law  then  requiring  a 
full  majority) .  He  was  a  very  useful  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Claims,  and  commenced  the  investigation  of 
the  famous  Virginia  claim,  so  successfully  continued  by 
Mr.  Hall,  of  Vermont,  at  a  later  period.  T  am  ashamed  to 
say,  I  can,  without  reference  to  documents  to  which  I  have 
not  now  access,  add  nothing  to  these  meagre  facts. 

Let  me  advise  you  to  consult  George  F.  Houghton,  Esq., 
of  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  who  will  give  you  full  information  on 
all  points  connected  with  the  lives  of  these  gentlemen. 

I  shall  be  very  glad  to  afford  you  the  aid  you  desire. 
My  engagements  and  the  state  of  my  eyes  would  not  al 
low  me  to  correct  printed  proof ;  but  if  you  desire  me  to 
go  over  your  manuscript,  I  will  do  so,  unless  you  wish  it 


106  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES . 

read  more  rapidly  than  I  could  go  through  it,  with  my 
present  occupations. 

Yours  truly, 

GEORGE  P.   MARSH. 

As  a  man,  a  citizen,  and  a  husband,  aside  from  his  intel 
lectual  acquirements,  Mr.  Marsh  was  all  that  could  be  de 
sired.  He  was  liberal  with  his  means,  too  much  of  a  noble 
man  to  be  narrow-minded  and  selfish,  and  always  ready  to 
do  his  utmost  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-men. 
When  he  took  an  interest  in  politics,  it  was  as  a  statesman, 
and  the  hem  of  his  garment  was  never  stained  by  contact 
with  the  debasing  demagogism  of  the  times  ;  and,  although 
he  had  no  children,  he  was  thrice  blessed  in  the  possession 
of  a  most  noble  wife.  Her  maiden  name  was  Caroline 
Crane,  and  she  was  his  faithful  helpmate  for  forty-four 
years.  That  she  was  capable  of  sympathizing  with  him 
in  his  intellectual  pursuits  is  abundantly  proven  by  the  fact 
that  she  translated  a  novel  from  the  German,  called  ''The 
Ilallig,"  which  was  successful,  and  also  published  a  volume 
of  poems.  For  many  years  her  health  was  exceedingly 
delicate,  and  I  very  well  remember  that,  on  a  certain  day 
prior  to  their  leaving  Washington  for  Europe,  she  was 
brought  by  her  husband,  in  his  arms,  into  the  drawing- 
room  ;  and  it  was  chiefly  owing  to  his  long-continued  and 
tender  care  that  her  subsequent  life  was  comfortable  and 
happy.  During  her  long  residence  in  Italy,  she  spent 
very  much  of  her  time  and  thoughts  and  money  in  the 
cause  of  charity,  and  often  administered  to  the  needy  by 
proxy,  when  too  ill  to  leave  her  own  bed. 

Having  noticed  that  some  curious  errors  have  crept  into 
the  papers  in  regard  to  the  books  published  by  Mr.  Marsh, 
I  submit  a  list  of  them  which  I  presume  will  be  found 
accurate  :  His  Icelandic  grammar  was  printed  in  1838,  but 


GEORGE    PEHKIN3   MAIISII.  107 

never  published;  "The  Camel,  etc.,"  appeared  in  1856; 
44  Lectures  on  the  English  Language"  and  "Wedgwood's 
Etymology,  Annotated, "in  1801  ;  ''Origin  and  History  of 
the  English  Language,"  1802  ;  "  Man  and  Nature,"  18G4  ; 
and  it  was  this  last  production  which  the  author  amplified 
and  published,  in  1874,  under  the  title  of  "The  Earth  as 
Modified  by  Human  Actions,"  and  which  was  translated 
into  Italian.  But  the  reviews,  essays,  and  speeches  which 
were  published  in  pamphlet  form  would  make  many  ad 
ditional  volumes  ;  and  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that 
other  valuable  productions  from  his  pen  will  hereafter  be 
given  to  the  world.  A  course  of  lectures  that  he  delivered 
before  the  post-graduates  of  Columbia  College  have  been 
commented  upon  as  unequalled  by  any  others  ever  de 
livered  in  this  country,  and  yet  he  used  to  say  that  his 
audiences  on  those  occasions  were  almost  invisible,  —  a 
sad  commentary  on  the  intellectual  tastes  of  our  people. 

Among  the  many  warm  personal  friends  of  Mr.  Marsh, 
there  was  not  one  who  remained  more  devoted  than  Senator 
George  F.  Edmunds.  It  was  partly  through  his  influence, 
undoubtedly,  that  the  diplomatic  scholar  was  permitted  to 
spend  so  many  years  in  foreign  countries.  And  thereby 
hangs  this  little  story  :  As  Mr.  Marsh  was  not  a  political 
partisan,  but  known  to  have  a  contempt  for  all  dema 
gogues,  repeated  efforts  were  made  to  have  him  recalled,  but 
his  faithful  senatorial  friend  always  squelched  the  unworthy 
efforts.  This  feeling  of  animosity,  it  is  said,  at  one  time 
permeated  the  Department  of  State.  In  one  of  his  de 
spatches  from  Italy  the  minister  thought  proper  to  append 
in  cipher  his  very  decided  and  unfavorable  opinions  in 
regard  to  the  Italian  government,  which  were,  of  course, 
intended  to  be  confidential ;  but  when  this  despatch  made 
its  appearance  in  the  regular  volume  of  published  corre- 


108  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

spondence,  it  was  found  that  the  cipher  despatch  alluded 
to  had  been  translated  and  published.  From  every  point 
of  view  this  conduct  was  improper  ;  but  the  motive  at  the 
bottom  of  the  whole  business  (and  selfish  motives  are  very 
common  in  Washington)  was,  that  the  Italian  govern 
ment  would  be  angry  and  naturally  insist  upon  the  recall 
of  Mr.  Marsh  ;  the  excuse  given  for  this  improper  publi 
cation  having  been  that  it  was  a  mistake.  It  was  a  mis 
take,  and  of  the  sort  allied  to  a  crime.  In  the  mean  time, 
however,  Mr.  Marsh  continued  to  perform  his  diplomatic 
duties  without  fear  or  favor,  and  after  the  manner  of  a 
true  man. 

When  I  recall  the  career  of  this  eminent  scholar,  I  am 
impressed  with  the  harmony  of  his  life  as  well  as  of  its 
ending.  He  left  college  fired  with  a  desire  to  acquire 
knowledge  from  the  study  both  of  books  and  nature,  and, 
whether  following  the  profession  of  law,  or  serving  his 
country  as  a  statesman  or  diplomat,  he  never  varied  from 
his  orignal  purpose.  He  first  saw  the  light  in  one  of  the 
beautiful  valleys  of  Vermont,  and  he  died  in  an  equally 
beautiful  valley  among  the  Apennines,  almost  within  the 
shadow  of  the  most  ancient  seats  of  learning.  In  his 
early  prime,  his  mind  revelled  among  the  historical  records 
and  wild  scenery  of  Scandinavia  ;  it  was  then  his  privilege 
to  travel  extensively  through  the  countries  bordering  on 
the  Mediterranean  ;  and  when  the  shadows  of  his  life 
were  lengthening,  Providence  gave  him  a  pleasant  home 
under  Italian  skies,  where  he  died,  and  where  his  grave  is 
certain  to  be  visited  with  love  and  veneration  by  thou 
sands  of  his  countrymen  in  future  years. 


WILLIAM   CULLEN   lUtYANT.  109 


WILLIAM   CULLEN   BRYANT. 

I  FIRST  became  acquainted  with  this  celebrated  poet  and 
noble  gentleman  in  the  year  1838,  and  the  affection  I  felt 
for  his  writings  as  a  boy  has  ever  remained  unchanged. 
Many  of  his  poems  are  so  pure  and  true  to  nature,  that 
the  old  and  young,  and  especially  the  thoughtful  in  every 
sphere  of  life,  have  acquired  a  regard  for  them  allied  to 
their  love  of  flowers  and  bright  skies,  the  woods  and 
mountains,  and  the  various  charms  which  characterize  the 
seasons  of  the  year.  But  he  also  attained  the  highest 
rank  as  a  writer  of  prose,  whether  giving  his  impressions 
as  a  tourist,  delivering  addresses  on  subjects  connected 
with  literature  and  art,  or  commenting  upon  the  politics 
of  the  day,  in  the  journal  which  he  conducted,  with 
unsurpassed  judgment  and  ability.  The  fact  that  he 
should  have  been  the  editor  of  a  single  newspaper,  the 
Evening  Post,  for  about  half  a  century,  is  unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  journalism  in  this  country,  excepting  in 
the  case  of  Joseph  Gales  and  the  National  Intelligencer ; 
and  when  we  remember  that,  during  all  this  period,  his 
sincerity  of  purpose  in  advocating  his  political  opinions, 
and  his  integrity,  were  never  questioned,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  his  name  should  have  become  a  house 
hold  word  throughout  his  native  land.  And  as  to  his 
well-known  love  for  the  fine  arts,  it  was  only  on  a  par 
with  the  affection  which  the  artists  of  the  country  always 
entertained  for  him  as  one  of  their  best  friends. 

Soon  after  the  appearance,  early  in   1846,  of  a  work 
called  "Altowau,"  written  by  an  Englishman  and  edited 


110  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

by  J.  Wntsou  Webb,  I  happened  to  be  in  the  office  of 
the  Evening  Post  when  the  book  came  up  for  discussion. 
I  hinted  to  the  editor  that  the  work  and  the  anonymous 
author  deserved  a  lashing,  and  after  giving  my  reasons, 
with  which  he  was  impressed,  he  asked  me  to  take  the 
work  in  hand,  for  his  journal.  I  told  him  I  should  be  too 
severe,  and  he  would  not  print  my  opinions,  but  he  replied 
that  he  would  publish  every  word.  I  thanked  him  for 
the  compliment ;  reviewed  the  book,  forthwith,  as  it 
deserved  ;  and,  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  it  was 
never  heard  of  any  more.  Indeed  there  never  was  a  time, 
since  its  foundation,  when  the  Evening  Post  was  not  a 
power  in  the  land.  From  that  time  forward  I  had  a  free 
passport  to  its  columns  ;  and  during  my  residence  in  New 
York  I  not  only  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  consulting  Mr. 
Bryant  on  matters  literary  and  artistic,  but  received  from 
him  many  favors,  and  was  afterwards  an  occasional  con 
tributor  to  his  journal. 

In  the  summer  of  1846  I  met  Mr.  Bryant  at  the  Sault 
St.  Marie,  on  my  return  from  a  trip  to  the  head- waters  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  and  in  one  of  his  letters  to  the 
Post  he  honored  me  with  this  notice  :  — 

"Among  these  copper-hunters  came,  passenger  from 
Luke  Superior,  a  hunter  of  the  picturesque,  Mr.  Charles 
Laninan,  whose  name  I  hope  I  mention  without  impropri 
ety,  since  I  am  only  anticipating  the  booksellers  in  a  piece 
of  literary  intelligence.  He  has  been  wandering  for  a 
year  past  in  the  wilds  of  the  West ;  during  the  present 
summer  he  has  traversed  the  country  in  which  rise  the 
springs  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  streams  that  flow  into 
Lake  Superior,  and  intends  to  publish  a  sketch  of  his 
journey  soon  after  his  arrival  in  New  York.  If  I  may 
judge  from  what  I  learned  in  a  brief  conversation,  he  will 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT.  Ill 

give  us  a  book  well  worth  reading.  He  is  an  artist  as  well 
as  an  author,  and  sketched  all  the  more  remarkable  places 
he  saw  in  his  travels,  for  the  illustration  of  his  volume. 
On  the  river  St.  Louis,  which  falls  into  the  western  ex 
tremity  of  Lake  Superior,  he  visited  a  stupendous  water 
fall,  not  described  by  any  traveller  or  geographer.  The 
volume  of  water  was  very  great  and  the  perpendicular 
descent  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  He  describes  it  as 
second  only  to  Niagara." 

When  the  "Letters  of  a  Traveller"  were  published 
in  book  form,  in  1851,  the  foregoing  paragraph  was 
omitted.  I  was  surprised  to  notice  this,  but,  suspecting 
the  cause,  wrote  to  Mr.  Bryant  on  the  subject.  He  frankly 
told  me,  in  a  kind  letter,  that  discredit  had  been  thrown 
upon  my  story,  in  his  mind,  by  a  savage  assault  upon 
me  printed  in  the  tl  North  American  Review"  ;  but,  with 
my  explanation  before  him,  he  regretted  that  he  had  man 
ifested  a  want  of  confidence  in  my  narrative.  On  seeing 
it  announced  in  1869  that  a  new  edition  of  the  "•  Letters 
of  a  Traveller"  was  about  to  appear,  I  wrote  again  to 
Mr.  By  rant,  and  after  reminding  him  of  the  old  trouble, 
took  the  pains  to  prove  to  him,  by  reference  to  certain 
geological  reports,  that,  in  the  main,  my  statements  about 
the  Cascades  on  the  river  St.  Louis  were  true.  To  that 
letter  I  received  a  friendly  reply,  and  when  the  new  edi 
tion  of  the  book  came  out  the  excluded  paragraph  was 
restored  to  its  proper  place,  and  my  position  was  thus  fully 
vindicated.  And  this  is  only  another  instance  of  that 
integrity  of  purpose  which  always  characterized  the  con 
duct  of  the  distinguished  poet  and  journalist,  in  his  deal 
ings  with  his  fellow-men. 

As  to  the  attack  in  the  "  Review,"  it  was  written  td  order 
by  Francis  Bowen,  of  moral  philosophy  fame,  and  paid 


112  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

for  by  the  "  American  Fur  Company,"  for  the  sole  reason 
that  I  had  deemed  it  my  duty  to  expose  some  of  the  out 
rageous  dealings  of  that  company  with  the  Indians  of  the 
Northwest. 

Long  before  the  days  of  photography,  or  before  it  had 
become  common  for  artists  to  make  elaborate  sketches 
of  American  scenery,  I  used  to  exhibit  my  portfolios  to 
Mr.  Bryant,  and  my  unpretending  productions  seemed  to 
afford  him  pleasure.  In  my  boyish  ambition,  and  while 
yet  a  Pearl  Street  clerk,  I  painted  a  small  picture  in 
illustration  of  one  of  his  own  poems,  and  presented  it  to 
him,  when  he  sent  me  the  following  note,  which  ought  to 
have  encouraged  me  to  become  an  artist  by  profession  :  — 

NEW  YORK,  Kov.  3,  1874. 

My  dear  Sir,  — I  thank  you  for  your  picture,  which  ap 
pears  to  possess  great  merit  and  give  high  promise  of  your 
future  success  as  a  landscape  painter.  It  has  the  quality 
of  individuality  both  in  the  general  effect  and  in  the  de 
tails.  Your  trees  are  real  trees,  of  the  different  kinds 
which  we  see  in  our  forests. 

I  am  a  very  deficient  connoisseur,  but  I  shall  always  be 
happy  to  look  at  any  of  the  productions  of  your  pencil ; 
and  though  my  opinion  cannot  be  of  any  value,  I  shall  be 
willing  to  express  it . 

In  haste,  yours  truly, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

The  other  letters  which  it  was  my  privilege  to  receive 
from  Mr.  Bryant  were  all  in  keeping  with  the  above,  and 
here  is  one  in  which  he  alludes  to  the  omission  in  the  first 
edition  of  his  "  Letters  of  a  Traveller." 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT.  113 

CUMMINGTOX,  MASS.,  Aug.  2,  1869. 
My  dear  Sir,  —  I  hardly  think  that  any  bookseller  will 
think  it  worth  his  while  to  bring  out  a  new  edition  of  my 
"  Letters  of  a  Traveller,"  though  I  see  it  stated  in  the 
Evening  Post  that  Mr.  Putnam  proposes  to  do  so.  Noth 
ing  had  been  said  to  me  about  it. 

I  do  not  remember  the  circumstance  to  which  you  refer, 
but  take  it  for  granted  that  you  are  accurate  in  your  recol 
lection.  If  you  will  let  me  know  what  the  passage  was 
which  I  omitted,  and  where  it  came  in,  I  will  consider 
whether  it  ought  to  be  restored,  in  case  a  new  edition 
should  be  published. 

I  am,  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

During  the  twenty-eight  years  between  1843  and  1871 
my  time  was  occupied  in  writing  for  the  press,  in  looking 
after  the  custody  of  books  or  in  writing  them,  and  in 
painting  an  occasional  picture  for  my  amusement ;  and 
when,  in  the  latter  year,  William  W.  Corcoran  asked  me  if 
I  would  like  to  become  the  director  of  the  Corcoran  Gal 
lery  of  Art,  and  told  me  to  place  credentials  before  the 
trustees  of  that  institution,  giving  me  reason  to  believe  by 
this  voluntary  mention  of  the  subject  that  he  would  use 
his  personal  influence  in  my  behalf,  I  wished  him  to  be 
fortified  with  a  few  testimonials,  and  I  mentioned  the 
matter  to  several  prominent  friends,  including  Mr.  Bryant, 
and  his  letter  to  the  trustees  was  as  follows :  — 

NEW  YORK,  March  20,  1871. 
To  the  Trustees  of  the  Corcoran  Gallery  of  Art. 

Gentlemen, — I  take  this  method  of   adding   my  testi 
mony  to  that  of  others  in  favor  of  appointing  Mr.  Charles 
8 


114  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Lanuiau  to  the  superintendence  of  the  Corcoran  Gallery. 
Mr.  Lanman  has  various  qualifications  for  that  charge.  He 
has  for  the  last  thirty  years  occupied  a  portion  of  his  time 
with  the  study  of  art,  in  which  he  has  always  taken  a 
special  interest.  He  has  written  of  artists  in  various  pub 
lications,  and  criticised  their  works,  and  in  different  ways 
has  acquired  the  knowledge  and  taste  which  would  make 
his  services  valuable  in  the  direction  of  a  public  gallery  of 

the  fine  arts.  Respectfully, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

In  Mr.  Bryant  the  reader  will  see  a  specimen  of  that 
class  of  friends  who  have  been  among  the  leading  com 
forts  of  my  life,  and  I  need  not  the  advice  of  Shakespeare, 
to  "  grapple  them  to  my  soul  with  hooks  of  steel  "  ;  nor  is 
there  any  danger  of  my  ever  mentioning  their  names  with 
out  a  feeling  of  gratitude.  By  way  of  showing  what  my 
feelings  towards  Mr.  Bryant  were,  twenty  years  prior  to  the 
date  of  the  preceding  letter,  I  submit  the  following  which 
appeared  as  the  Dedication  of  my  book  entitled  "  Records 
of  a  Tourist,"  first  published  in  1850  :  — 

To 

WILLIAM    CULLEN     BRYANT,    ESQ., 

IN   WHOM   ARE   BLENDED 
ALL  THE  MORE  EXALTED  ATTRIBUTES   OF   THE   PoET  AND   THB  MAN, 

THIS   VOLUME 
IS   AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED. 

When,  in  the  early  part  of  1874,  it  was  announced  that 
Mr.  Bryant  would  superintend  the  publication  of  a  new 
"  History  of  the  United  States,"  as  he  had  done  the  work 
entitled  "Picturesque  America,"  I  sent  him  two  or  three 
volumes  of  my  own,  which  I  thought  might  be  of  use  to 
him,  and  I  took  occasion  to  speak  of  the  treatment  which 


WILLIAM   CULLEN    BRYANT  115 

I  had  received  in  the  publication  lust  named,  in  which  my 
account  of  the  French  Broad  River  had  been  printed  with 
out  credit,  and  this  was  his  reply  :  — 

NEW  YORK,  April  14,  1874. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  volumes  which  you 
were  so  obliging  as  to  send  me.  They  will  be  of  real 
use  in  compiling  the  history.  I  shall  put  them  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Gay,  on  whom  I  devolve  most  of  the  ivork. 

I  nt'ver  heard  of  the  plagiarism  of  which  you  speak.  It 
was  of  course  the  offence  of  some  person  employed  by  Mr. 
Bunce  to  write  an  account  of  the  region  to  which  you  re 
fer,  and  Mr.  Bunce  doubtless  knew  nothing  of  it  till  you 
informed  the  Appletons  of  it.  It  was  inexcusable. 
I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

A  few  months  after  the  above  date  (in  the  month  of 
June)  I  had  occasion  to  write  a  letter  to  the  distinguished 
poet,  in  which  I  informed  him  that  my  Japanese  ward, 
Ume  Tsuda,  then  a  child  of  less  than  ten  years,  had  been 
winning  many  honors,  at  the  private  school  which  she  at 
tended  ;  that  she  was  fond  of  poetry  and  had  recited  before 
a  large  audience  the  poem  of  the  "  White-footed  Deer,"  in 
a  most  effective  manner  and  without  making  a  single  mis 
take,  and  that  she  permitted  me  to  send  her  card  picture  to 
the  great  man  she  had  learned  to  love.  To  that  letter  I 
received  the  following  beautiful  reply  :  — 

ROSLYN,  LONG  ISLAND,  N.  Y. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  pleasant  little  anecdote 
related  in  your  letter.  Please  give  my  best  thanks  to  Miss 
Ume  Tsuda  for  the  likeness  of  herself  which  she  allowed 


116  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

you  to  send  me.  I  shall  preserve  it  carefully  as  the  por 
trait  of  one  who  has  won  by  her  amiable  qualities  the  love 
of  the  household  in  which  she  lives. 

If  there  is  any  merit  in  my  poem  of  the  "White-footed 
Deer,"  it  consists  in  the  spirit  of  humanity  towards  the  in 
ferior  animals  which  it  inculcates.  She  may  forget  the 
poetry,  such  as  it  is  ;  but  the  lesson,  I  hope,  will  not  be 
forgotten.  Yours  truly, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Bryant  had  attained  his  eightieth  year, 
and  when  thousands  of  people  were  manifesting  their  re 
gard  for  him  in  a  variety  of  ways,  I  sent  him, 'with  a  small 
painting  of  my  own,  a  letter  which  contained  this  para 
graph  :  — 

"I  cannot  resist  the  promptings  of  my  heart.  I  desire 
to  be  numbered  with  the  multitude,  who  have,  for  a  week 
past,  been  commemorating  with  loving  words  the  pure  and 
splendid  life  of  fourscore  years,  which  will  ever  be  a 
leading  landmark  in  the  history  of  American  literature. 
More  than  a  third  of  a  century  has  passed  away  since  it 
was  first  my  privilege  to  grasp  your  hand.  At  that  time  I 
was  a  boy,  a  Pearl  Street  clerk,  and  an  amateur  artist ;  it 
was  one  of  your  poems  which  inspired  my  first  picture 
composition,  and  which  you  accepted  as  a  token  of  my 
admiration.  I  am  now  far  advanced  on  the  road  to  '  The 
Future  Life,'  and  one  of  my  last  productions  was  a  little 
picture  illustrating  a  line  in  your  poem  of  '  Autumn 
Woods,'  and  which  picture,  all  unpretending  as  it  is,  I 
wish  you  to  accept  as  a  token  of  my  long-continued,  grate 
ful,  and  affectionate  regard." 

A  reply  to  my  letter  was  soon  returned  ;  and  while  the 
penmanship  was  as  careful  and  beautiful  as  that  which 


WILLIAM    CULLEN   BttYANT.  1  1  7 

came  from  the  same  hand  half  ti  century  before,  the  scnti- 
meiit  was  as  follows  :  — 

ROSLYN,  LONG  ISLAND,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  12,  1874. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  words  which 
you  say  in  regard  to  my  birthday.  To  count  eighty  years 
of  one's  life  with  the  feeling  that  there  cannot  be  many 
more  of  them  is  rather  a  melancholy  task,  but  its  sadness 
may  be  somewhat  mitigated  by  cheerful  greetings. 

I  thank  you  also  for  the  picture  which  came  with  your 
letter  There  is  a  grave  and  quiet  grace  about  it, —  though 
with  much  richness  of  coloring,  which  suits  the  autumnal 
season  of  the  year  as  well  as  the  autumn  of  life.  It  is 
creditable  to  your  pencil,  and  I  accept  it  as  emblematic  of 
your  kind  estimate  of  my  old  age. 

I  am,  sir,  truly  yours, 

W.  C.  BRYANT. 

The  printed  tributes  of  regard  which  heralded  Mr. 
Bryant's  eightieth  birthday  were  very  numerous  and  elo 
quent,  but  among  them  all  there  was  not  one  which  cov 
ered  the  whole  ground  more  completely  in  few  words,  than 
the  following  from  the  New  York  Observer,  written,  I  pre 
sume,  by  my  old  friend,  Dr.  Prime  :  — 

"  Mr.  Bryant's  career  is  one  that  may  be  wisely  com 
mended  to  the  admiration  of  those  who  are  looking  up 
ward  with  anxious  eyes  as  to  their  future  in  the  race  of 
life.  Born  in  a  retired  village  of  Massachusetts,  educated 
at  Williams  College,  dependent  upon  his  own  industry  and 
genius,  with  strong  moral  convictions  ;  temperate,  syste 
matic,  and  persevering  ;  a  poet  and  yet  practical ;  not  given 
to  visions  and  dreams,  but  realizing  that  life  is  '  real  and 
earnest,'  he  has  steadily,  quietly,  and  nobly  wrought  out 


118  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

for  himself  a  character  that  is  to-day  more  enviable,  per 
haps,  than  that  of  any  other  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
Without  ever  having  held  office,  which  would  have  been 
thrust  upon  him  had  he  been  willing  to  receive  it,  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  most  laborious  and  responsible  of  all  sec 
ular  professions,  by  his  pen  employed  solely  for  the  im 
provement,  elevation,  and  delight  of  the  world  of  readers, 
he  has  won  fame,  love,  reverence,  and  that  measure  of 
wealth  which  makes  old  age  comfortable,  graceful,  and 
happy.  And  crowned  with  the  peaceful  hopes  of  the 
Christian,  which  add  an  eternal  future  of  enjoyment  to 
the  pleasure  of  the  present,  the  measure  is  full,  and  we 
have  a  right  to  count  him  blessed  among  men.  May  his 
example  be  a  blessing  also  to  those  who  come  after  him." 

In  a  note  addressed  to  Mr.  Bryant,  in  187G,  I  mentioned 
the  fact  that  I  had  seen  a  poem  in  a  school  book,  attributed 
to  him,  on  the  subject  of  "Immortality,"  and  had  been 
greatly  puzzled  about  it,  as  I  thought  it  could  not  have 
come  from  his  pen.  In  his  reply  he  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  poem  on  '  Immortality'  is  an  old  affair.  It  ap 
peared  some  fifteen  or  twenty  years  since,  under  my  name, 
and  after  a  while  I  was  obliged,  in  self-defence,  to  disclaim 
its  authorship,  as  it  was  not  written  by  me." 

In  the  death  of  Mr,  Bryant  our  country  lost  one  of  its 
purest  and  most  gifted  citizens  ;  the  literary  world,  one  of 
its  best  poets  ;  and  the  press,  one  of  its  brightest  and 
most  influential  ornaments.  As  if  in  answer  to  one  of  his 
poetic  prayers,  he  died  in  the  month  of  "  flowery  June  "  ; 
the  tributes  to  his  memory,  which  were  published  immedi 
ately  after  his  departure,  were  quite  unparalleled  in  their 
number,  their  affectionate  spirit  and  high  character  ;  and  I 
can  now  fancy  that  all  the  characters  in  Leutze's  exquisite 
illustration  of  "  The  Catterskill  Falls,"  as  they  mournfully 


WILLIAM    CULLEN    BUY  ANT.  119 

sweep  in  circles  around  their  moonlit  and  icy  home,  are 
forever  singing  the  praises  of  the  poet  who  called  them 
into  being.  The  fact  that,  as  "time  and  chance  deter 
mined,"  he  was  in  the  habit  of  attending  both  the  Unitarian 
and  Presbyterian  churches,  is  to  my  mind  only  an  evidence 
of  his  sincerity  and  rare  liberality  as  a  true  Christian,  and 
yet  it  is  one  which  has  led  some  people  to  doubt  his  ortho 
doxy.  On  that  point  I  have  only  this  to  say,  that  I  want 
no  better  evidence  of  his  soundness  on  the  subject  of  re 
ligion  than  what  is  found  in  his  two  poems  entitled  'k  He 
hath  put  all  Things  under  His  Feet,"  and  "Receive  Thy 
Light,"  and  in  the  "Prayer"  which  he  and  his  betrothed 
wife  uttered  together  in  1821,  which  was  so  touchingly  re 
called  by  the  poem  in  memory  of  his  wife  found  among  his 
papers  after  his  own  death.  But  more  important  than  all 
was  the  Preface  he  wrote  for  the  work  entitled  "  The  Re 
ligious  Life,"  by  his  friend  Joseph  Alden,  the  beauty  and 
value  of  wThich  cannot  be  overrated  ;  and  yet  in  the  author 
ized  "  Biography  of  the  Poet "  there  is  not  one  allusion  to 
this  priceless  bit  of  autobiography,  nor  to  the  clergyman  in 
Roslyn,  who  was  the  friend  and  pastor  of  Mr.  Bryant.  In 
deed,  taking  Mr.  Bryant's  writings  as  a  whole,  in  connec 
tion  with  the  religious  manifestoes  of  his  old  age,  his  pur 
pose  would  seem  to  have  been,  not  only  to  purify  the  human 
heart,  but  to  make  his  fellow-beings  happy,  both  in  this 
world  and  that  beyond  the  grave.  With  the  materials  that 
were  placed  in  the  hands  of  'Parke  Godwin,  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  him  to  make  an  uninteresting  book, 
but  it  was  unfortunate  that  he  should  have  proven  himself 
in  this,  as  in  his  preceding  publications,  to  be  without  the 
more  delicate  sympathies  of  the  human  heart,  and  inca 
pable  of  being  just  when  discussing  the  religious  position 
of  the  man  he  was  anxious  to  honor. 


120  iiAriiAZAUD  PERSONALITIES. 


HENRY   CLAY. 

I  HAVE  never  been  a  politician,  but  in  1844  I  had  a  ter 
rible  attack  of  the  Whig  fever  in  the  city  of  New  York  ; 
it  lasted  for  perhaps  six  weeks,  and  then  it  was  that  I  cast 
my  first  and  only  vote  in  a  Presidential  election,  and,  of 
course,  my  ideal  was  Henry  Clay.  My  father  and  grand 
father  had  both  been  attached  to  him  as  personal  friends, 
and  I  did  not  then,  and  never  wished  to  be,  less  devoted 
than  they  were.  I  first  saw  Mr.  Clay  in  New  York  in  1 835, 
on  the  occasion  of  one  of  his  visits  to  that  city,  and  I 
remember  that  there  was  not  much  dignity  in  the  manner 
in  which  the  enthusiastic  people  literally  carried  him  over 
their  heads  from  Broadway  into  the  Astor  House.  I 
afterwards  heard  him  speak  in  the  Senate,  visited  him  fre 
quently  at  his  hotel  in  Washington,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
last  sickness  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  Mr.  Webster,  at 
his  own  table,  speak  of  his  great  rival  in  these  terms  :  — 

"  Mr.  Clay  is  a  great  man  ;  beyond  all  question,  a  true 
patriot.  He  has  done  much  for  his  country.  He  ought 
long  ago  to  have  been  elected  President.  I  think,  how 
ever,  he  was  never  a  man  of  books,  a  hard  student,  but 
he  has  displayed  remarkable  genius.  I  never  could  im 
agine  him  sitting  comfortably  in  his  library  and  reading 
quietly  out  of  the  great  books  of  the  past.  He  has  been 
too  fond  of  the  world  to  enjoy  anything  like  that.  He  has 
been  too  fond  of  excitement ;  he  has  lived  upon  it.  lie 
has  been  too  fond  of  company,  not  enough  alone,  and 
has  had  few  resources  within  himself.  Now  a  man  who 
cannot,  to  some  extent,  depend  upon  himself  for  happi 
ness  is,  to  my  mind,  one  of  the  unfortunates.  But  Clay 


HENRY   CLAY.  121 

is  a,  great  man,  and  if  lie  ever  had  animosities  against  me, 
I  forgive  him  and  forget  them." 

If  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Clay  I  cannot  recall  any  incident 
within  my  personal  knowledge  illustrative  of  his  character, 
it  so  happens,  however,  that  I  can  lay  before  the  reader  a 
few  of  his  letters.  The  first  in  the  order  of  date,  and 
addressed  to  my  father,  in  1817,  will  explain  itself,  and  is 
as  follows  :  — 

WASHINGTON  CITY,  28th  October,  1817. 

Sir,  —  I  have  received  the  letter  which  you  addressed  to 
me  on  the  10th  instant,  requesting  information  relative  to 
the  prospects  which  a  young  man  of  good  education  would 
have  of  being  employed  in  Kentucky  as  a  tutor  in  a  private 
family,  or  in  the  profession  of  law. 

During  my  residence  in  Kentucky  I  successively  em 
ployed  two  young  gentlemen  as  tutors  in  my  family  (one 
from  New  England  and  the  other  from  New  Jersey) ,  to 
each  of  whom  I  gave  $300  per  annum  and  boarded  him  in 
my  family.  I  think  it  probable  that  on  similar  terms,  with 
proper  recommendations,  you  could  obtain  immediate 
employment  in  Kentucky.  Our  system  of  education  not 
being  so  good  as  that  which  prevails  with  you,  gentlemen 
who  have  large  families  and  can  afford  the  expense  are 
frequently  desirous  of  engaging  private  tutors. 

Success  in  the  profession  of  the  law  depends  upon  so 
many  circumstances  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  pro 
nounce  a  priori  what  degree  of  it  will  attend  the  exertions 
of  any  particular  candidate.  One  may,  however,  safely 
assert  with  respect  to  the  pursuit  of  it  in  Kentucky,  that 
even  a  moderate  share  of  talents,  accompanied  by  probity, 
industry,  patience,  and  economy,  will  be — and  in  a  period 
much  shorter  than  in  older  countries  —  rewarded  with  a 
competency  and  respectability.  With  the  qualifications  sug. 


122  HAPHAZARD   PERSON ALITIES. 

gested,  I  do  not  think  it  material  in  what  part  of  the  State 
a  location  is  made.  There  is  room  anywhere,  though  there 
may  be  some  difference  as  to  the  period  in  which  one  would 
realize  his  hopes  in  the  several  places  that  might  present 
themselves.  Should  you  determine  upon  the  pursuit  of 
that  profession  in  Kentucky,  or,  indeed,  in  any  part  of 
the  "Western  States,  my  advice  would  be  that  you  should 
go  out,  reconnoitre,  and  determine  for  yourself.  Terms  of 
admission  to  the  bar,  with  us,  are  upon  the  most  easy  and 
liberal  footing.  No  previous  residence  is  required,  and 
the  license  to  practise  what  the  law  prescribes  is  usually 
granted  after  very  slight  examinations  of  the  applicant. 

Partnerships  in  the  profession  are  extremely  rare  with 
us,  and  perhaps  desirable  to  neither  party.  The  business 
of  the  counsellor  and  attorney  is  not  separated  as  it  is  in 
New  York  and  some  other  parts. 

I  have  not  considered  myself  a  practitioner  for  several 
years. 

I  shall  be  happy,  sir,  if  this  letter  may,  in  any  manner, 
be  useful  to  you,  and  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  com 
municate  to  you  any  further  information,  or  to  render  you 
any  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  your  object,  in  my  power. 

I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  CLAY. 
CHARLES  JAMES  LANMAN,  Esq., 

Norwich,  Conn. 

A  letter  which  Mr.  Clay  wrote  to  my  grandfather  in  1820, 
who  as  a  senator  had  voted  for  the  admission  of  Missouri 
as  a  State,  is  also  in  my  possession.  Mr.  Clay  was  at  that 
time  in  Kentucky,  and  his  correspondent  in  Washington, 
and  the  object  of  the  letter  was  to  introduce  the  two 
newly  elected  senators  from  the  new  State  of  Missouri, 
David  Barton  and  Thomas  II.  Benton,  and  the  letter  was 
as  follows :  — 


HENRY   CLAY.  123 

LEXINGTON,  31st  October,  1820. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  quite  sure  you  will  not  consider  me  as 
trespassing  too  much,  upon  the  small  acquaintance  which 
I  have  with  you,  in  introducing  to  you  Messrs.  Barton  and 
Benton,  the  senators  from  Missouri.  The  liberality  which 
marked  your  course  on  that  interesting  question  to  which 
their  State  has  given  rise,  independent  of  other  consider 
ations,  makes  them  anxious  to  know  a  gentleman  who,  con 
sidering  the  Constitution  and  the  tranquillity  of  the  Union 
alone,  has  boldly  done,  at  all  hazards,  what  he  conscien 
tiously  believed  his  duty. 

I  am  persuaded  that  you  will  see,  in  the  contribution  of 
talent,  of  information,  and  of  patriotism  which  these  gen 
tlemen  will  make  to  the  national  councils,  additional  cause 
of  fortification  to  your  disinterested  course.  I  cannot  but 
hope  you  will  be  spared  the  renewal  of  a  discussion  which 
threatened  so  much,  and  which  was,  I  think,  so  happily 
terminated.  With  great  respect,  1  am, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

II.  CLAY. 
The  Hon.  JAMES  LANMAN,  etc. 

When  in  1850  I  first  met  Mr.  Benton  in  Washington,  he 
forthwith  began  to  talk  in  very  pleasant  terms  about  my 
grandfather,  telling  me  that  he  remembered  his  knee- 
breeches  and  powdered  hair  ;  that  he  was  an  admirable 
horseman,  and  daily  took  an  airing  in  the  saddle.  With 
regard  to  Mr.  Benton  himself,  lie  had  a  similar  passion 
for  a  fine  horse  ;  and  while  I  do  not  class  him  with  such 
men  as  Mr.  Clay,  he  had  many  of  the  characteristics  of 
a  grand  old  Roman  senator,  and  was  a  distinguished  honor 
to  his  country.  His  place  of  residence  in  Washington  I 
remember  as  the  perfection  of  a  home.  Nor  do  I  wonder  at 


124  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

this  when  I  recollect  that,  according  to  a  promise  he  made 
to  his  mother  when  a  mere  boy,  he  never  participated  in  a 
game  of  chance,  nor  indulged  in  the  use  of  tobacco  and 
spirituous  beverages.  That  he  was,  however,  sometimes  a 
little  intemperate  is  proven  by  the  public  records.  When 
Mr.  Clay  wrote  the  above  letter  of  introduction,  little  did 
he  imagine  that  thirty  years  afterward  he  would  be  falsely 
charged  by  Mr.  Benton  with  writing  a  calumnious  letter  ; 
and  that  in  repelling  the  charge  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate, 
he  would  be  forced  to  use  the  language  which  caused  him, 
for  the  only  time  in  his  life,  to  be  called  to  order  by  the 
President  of  the  Senate. 

With  regard  to  the  subjoined  letters  addressed  to  myself, 
I  print  them  with  this  one  remark,  that  at  the  time  they 
were  received,  excepting  one,, I  was  connected  with  the 
New  York  Daily  Express. 


ASHLAND,  Sept,  28, 1844. 

My  dear  Sir,  — I  have  only  time,  through  an  amanuensis 
who  writes  upon  my  dictation,  to  make  a  brief  acknowledg 
ment  of  the  receipt  of  your  friendly  letter,  and  to  thank 
you  for  the  kind  sentiments  towards  me  which  it  expresses. 
I  most  sincerely  hope  that  the  prospect  which  you  present 
of  the  enthusiasm  which  prevails  in  the  Whig  cause  may 
terminate  in  its  successful  issue,  less  on  my  own  account 
than  that  of  our  common  country.  I  believe  that  such  will 
be  the  result,  if  the  Whigs  put  forth  their  earnest  exertions, 
undismayed  by  the  boasting  and  bragging  of  their  oppo 
nents. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  by  the  offer,  which  you  kindly  make, 
of  the  two  volumes  which  you  have  composed,  and  I  should 
be  most  happy  to  receive  them.  At  present,  I  know  of 


HENRY   CLAY.  125 

no  opportunity  by  which  they  can  be  conveyed.  Perhaps 
some  one  may  shortly  present  itself.  I  am  with  great 
respect, 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

II.  CLAY. 

ASHLAND,  14th  April,  1847. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter  on  the 
melancholy  occasion  of  the  death  of  my  beloved  son. 
My  life  has  been  full  of  domestic  afflictions,  but  this  last  is 
one  of  the  severest  among  them.  I  derive  some  conso 
lation  from  knowing  that  he  died  where  he  would  have 
chosen,  and  where,  if  I  must  lose  him,  I  should  have  pre 
ferred,  on  the  battle-field  in  the  service  of  his  country.  I 
am,  respectfully, 

Your  obliged  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

II.  CLAY. 

ASHLAND,  22d  April,  1847. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  received  to-day  your  friendly  letter, 
and  a  number  of  the  Express,  to  which  it  refers,  contain 
ing  an  account  of  the  proceedings  on  the  occasion  of  the 
celebration  of  my  birthday  in  the  city  of  New  York,  with 
which  I  was  honored  by  my  young  "Whig  friends.  Filled 
as  my  heart  is  with  grief  for  the  loss  of  my  lamented  and 
beloved  son,  I  cannot  but  feel  profoundly  grateful  for  the 
enthusiastic  compliment  which  has  been  thus  rendered  to 
me.  I  wish  that  I  was  more  conscious  of  deserving  it 
than  I  am,  and  that  I  did  not  feel  that  of  all  our  country 
men,  Washington  only  merits  the  anniversary  of  his  birth 
day  to  be  commemorated. 

I  thank  you  for  the  interesting  details  attending  the  cele 
bration,  which  you  have  done  me  the  favor  to  communi 
cate. 


126  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Be  pleased  to  give  my  best  regards  to  Mr.  James  Brooks, 
your  associate.  I  remain  truly, 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

H.  CLAY. 

ASHLAND,  1st  December,  1847. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  friendly  letter  of  the 
24th  ulto.,  with  a  copy  of  my  late  speech,  on  the  Mexican 
war,  delivered  at  Lexington,  on  the  13th  ulto.,  as  pub 
lished  in  the  Express,  the  constant  kindness  of  which 
towards  me  I  have  always  felt  and  duly  appreciated. 

The  important  point  of  the  speech  was  that  which  asserts 
the  power  of  Congress  to  decide  on  the  objects  of  any  war, 
and  calls  upon  it  to  proclaim  what  shall  be  those  of  a  fur 
ther  prosecution  of  the  existing  war.  If  Congress  will  act, 
I  cannot  doubt  that  peace  will  speedily  ensue.  May  God 
grant  us  that  great  blessing. 

With  great  respect,  I  am  truly  yours, 

H.  CLAY. 

ASIILAXD,  6th  December,  1847. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  favor  of  the  30th 
ulto.,  with  the  highly  interesting  pamphlet  from  the  pen 
of  Mr.  Gallatin,  and  which,  although  received  only 
to-day,  I  have  already  perused  with  great  satisfaction.  It 
is  distinguished  by  strong  facts  strikingly  arrayed,  and 
strong  arguments,  which  always  characterize  the  produc 
tions  of  that  eminent  and  venerable  citizen.  It  cannot  fail 
to  exercise  a  powerful  influence  in  behalf  of  the  cause  of 
peace.  Will  he  also  be  accused  of  seeking  the  Presidency 
because  he  has  counselled  his  country  against  the  further 
prosecution  of  an  unjust  war? 

With  great  and  constant  regard, 

11.  CLAY. 


HENRY   CLAY.  127 

Among  the  volumes  in  my  library  upon  which  I  place 
a  special  value  is  one  containing  the  private  correspond 
ence  of  Mr.  Clay,  presented  to  me  by  William  W.  Seaton, 
and  the  mention  of  his  name  recalls  an  interesting  incident 
which  occurred  at  hia  own  table.  During  the  period  when 
William  (Jaston  and  Henry  Clay  were  both  in  Congress, 
they  had  an  oratorical  contest,  which  was  not  satisfactory 
to  the  latter,  and  resulted  in  a  prolonged  alienation  between 
the  two  statesmen.  Forty  years  after  the  aforesaid  debate 
these  two  men  met  at  the  table  of  Mr.  Seaton.  At  first, 
they  were  both  disposed  to  be  very  dignified  towards 
each  other,  and  the  moment  Mr.  Seaton  observed  this,  he 
remembered  the  long-forgotten  difficulty  between  the  cham 
pions  of  North  Carolina  and  Kentucky,  and  at  once  pro 
pounded  this  setinment,  "Friendship  in  marble,  enmities 
in  dust"  ;  and  from  that  hour  Oaston  and  Clay  were  warm 
friends  until  they  were  parted  by  death. 

Another  incident  in  the  life  of  Henry  Clay,  which  came 
to  my  knowledge  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  T.  Wheat,  a  man 
himself  of  very  superior  abilities,  it  seems  to  be  my  duty 
to  preserve  in  this  place.  It  was  long  ago,  and  the  rev 
erend  gentleman  just  named  had  visited  Washington,  his 
native  city,  on  a  begging  expedition  in  behalf  of  a  church 
in  Ohio,  and  among  his  letters  of  introduction  was  one 
to  Mr.  Clay.  On  visiting  the  reception-room  at  the  Sen 
ate,  Mr.  Wheat  sent  his  card  to  the  senator,  and  after  he 
had  delivered  the  letter  he  was  told  by  Mr.  Clay  that  he 
was  about  to  participate  in  a  debate,  and  that  he  would  be 
very  happy  if  Mr.  Wheat  would  call  at  his  house  in  the 
evening  and  take  tea  with  his  family,  when  they  would 
discuss  the  pending  business.  The  invitation  was  accepted, 
and  the  result,  to  use  Mr.  Wheat's  own  language,  was  as 
follows :  — 


128  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

"  When  I  arrived,  the  servant  took  me  to  the  family  sit 
ting-room,  and  without  announcing  me,  left  me  standing  at 
the  open  door.  Mr.  Clay  was  seated  at  a  table  on  which  a 
lamp  was  burning,  and  so  absorbed  in  reading  a  little  book 
that  I  hud  advanced  quite  near  to  him  and  spoken  before 
he  was  aware  of  my  presence.  He  received  me  in  his 
usual  courteous  manner,  and  I  took  a  seat  by  the  side  of 
the  table  with  him.  At  a  pause  in  the  conversation  which 
followed,  my  curiosity  to  know  what  was  the  little  book  in 
which  Mr.  Clay  was  so  deeply  interested  prompted  me  to 
take  it  up,  and  I  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  it  a  child's 
Sunday-school  book.  Seeing  this,  Mr.  Clay  remarked, 
'  You  are  no  doubt  surprised  at  your  discovery,  but  I  often 
read  the  books  the  children  bring  home  from  the  Sunday 
school.'  And,  while  the  smile  gave  place  to  a  tender 
gravity  in  his  noble  countenance,  he  continued,  '  My  life, 
you  must  know,  my  dear  sir,  has  been  a  very  worldly, 
irreligious  one.  It  is  only  of  late  years  that  I  have  begun 
to  give  earnest  heed  to  those  things  which  concern  me  most 
nearly  ;  and  I  really  need  the  instruction  which  I  get  from 
these  Sunday-school  books.  I  also  receive  some  encour 
agement  to  hope  that  I  have  at  least  the  beginning  of  a 
new  nature  and  life  in  me,  because  I  can  understand  some 
what,  and  sympathize  with  what  I  read  in  these  books 
about  the  church,  and  the  character  and  life  of  a  Christian. 
You  know,'  he  continued,  '  when  we  read  a  work  of  fic 
tion,  we  sometimes  say  of  a  character  or  scene,  that  the 
description  is  true  to  life  and  nature.  We  verify  it  by  our 
own  consciousness  and  experience.'  Then,  with  increased 
earnestness,  he  asked,  '  Do  you  think,  my  dear  sir,  that 
I  am  presumptuous  in  hoping  that  there  may  be  in  myself 
the  new  nature,  the  divine  life,  since  I  really  find  pleasure 
in  reading  religious  books,  and  receive  much  needed  assist- 


IIEXKY    CLAY.  129 

ancc  from  them  in  my  poor  endeavors  to  lead  a  godly  and 
a  Christian  life  ? ' 

4k  What  could  I  answer,  hut  to  assent  most  heartily  to  this 
meek  inquiry  so  unexpected  and  so  touching?  I  went  very 
fully  into  the  Scriptural  grounds  of  his  faith  and  hope  in 
Christ,  and  was  deeply  moved  at  finding  myself  so  pa 
tiently  listened  to  by  one,  intellectually,  so  far  above  me. 
That  the  great  statesman,  on -whose  eloquence  a  listening 
Senate  hung,  should  show  such  humility,  forcibly  recalled 
the  declaration  of  Christ,  '  Except  ye  be  converted,  and 
become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  king 
dom  of  heaven.'" 

Mr.  Wheat  not  only  enjoyed  his  cup  of  tea,  and  ob 
tained  a  handsome  donation  from  his  host,  but  before 
leaving  the  house  heard  one  of  the  children  make  the  re 
mark,  kk  AVe  do  not  have  a  chance  to  read  our  Sunday- 
school  books,  because  grandpa  is  always  taking  them 
away  from  us  for  his  own  pleasure." 

That  Henry  Clay  was  a  great  man  —  as  orator,  states 
man,  and  patriot— is  the  universal  tribute  of  his  countrymen  ; 
but  that  there  wras  much  in  his  character  calculated  to  win 
the  affection  of  those  who  knew  him,  is  conclusively  proven 
by  the  fact,  that,  among  the  latest  words  uttered  by  him, 
when  dying,  were  these,  "  My  mother,  my  dear  wife," 
showing  that,  while  passing  through  the  dark  valley,  his 
heart  was  cheered  by  the  memory  of  those  whom  he  had 
tenderly  loved,  and  were  awaiting  him  in  the  better  land. 
As  I  recall  the  splendid  tributes  that  he  paid  to  religion, 
and  how  his  two  great  rivals,  Calhoun  and  Webster,  uttered 
similar  sentiments,  my  thoughts  naturally  revert  to  the 
crowning  neglect  of  Macaulay  in  that  particular,  and  I 
feel,  in  a  far  higher  sense  than  Shakespeare  intended, 
"how  sharper  than  a  serpent's  tooth  it  is,  to  have  a 
9 


130  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

thankless  child. "  The  great  essayist  may  have  been  a 
lover  of  children,  but  it  often  seemed  as  if  he  failed  to 
recognize  a  Father  in  the  Creator  of  the  world. 


EDWARD   EVERETT. 

MY  intercourse  with  this  eminent  man  was  one  of  the 
many  pleasant  results  of  my  connection  with  Daniel  Web 
ster  as  his  private  secretary.  That  he  honored  me  with 
his  confidence  and  friendship  is  a  fact  which  I  fully  appre 
ciated,  and  his  kindness  to  me  is  proven  by  the  following 
selection  from  his  correspondence. 

CAMBRIDGE,  29th  September,  1851. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Mr.  Webster  has  sent  me  your  letter  of  the 
25th,  kindly  proposing  to  furnish  a  sketch  of  his  birth 
place,  to  be  engraved  for  the  new  edition  of  his  works.  I 
should  think  such  an  illustration  would  form  a  very  pleas 
ing  addition  to  the  interest  of  the  work  ;  and  if  you  will 
have  the  goodness  to  forward  the  drawing  to  me,  I  will 
immediately  propose  to  Messrs.  Little  &  Brown  to  have 
it  engraved. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

CAMBRIDGE,  4th  November,  1851. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  ought  long  since  to  have  acknowledged 
the  receipt  of  the  interesting  drawing  of  Mr.  Webster's 
birthplace.  It  was  immediately  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
engraver,  and  will  adorn  one  of  the  volumes  of  the  new 
edition  of  his  works. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  131 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  and  of  the  letter  from  Mr. 
Webster  to  Mr.  Everett,  about  to  follow,  a  brief  statement 
must  here  be  made.  The  engraving  alluded  to  did  not 
make  its  appearance  in  Mr.  Webster's  works,  but  in  the 
place  of  it  the  view  of  a  farm-house  adjoining  the  birth 
place.  Th.1  gv'iaiine  picture  was  published  in  the  "  Private 
Life,"  and  also  in  Putnam's  kk  Homes  of  American  States 
men";  and  when  the  original  drawing  was  made,  Mr. 
Webster  sat  by  the  side  of  the  author  and  sanctioned  it  on 
the  spot.  Shortly  afterward  the  house  was  demolished. 
When  the  farm-house  view  made  its  appearance,  Mr.  Web 
ster  pronounced  it  a  "  miserable  mistake." 

Mr.  Webster  to  Mr.  Everett. 

MARSHFIELD,  Oct.  8,  1851. 

My  dear  /Sir,  —  The  house  delineated  in  Mr.  Lanman's 
sketch  is  the  very  house  in  which  I  was  born.  Some  of 
my  older  brothers  and  sisters  were  born  in  the  first  house 
erected  by  my  father,  which  was  a  log-cabin.  Before  my 
birth  he  had  become  able  to  build  a  small  frame  house, 
which  some  persons  now  living  will  remember,  and  which 
is  accurately  depicted  by  Mr.  Lanman.  This  house,  in  its 
turn,  gave  way  to  a  much  larger  one,  which  now  stands  on 
the  spot,  and  which  was  built  by  those  who  purchased  the 
property  of  my  father.  1  have  recently  repurchased  the 
spot.  I  will  look  for  Mr.  Marston's  note,  but  I  thought 
you  had  it.  I  will  revise  the  several  dedications,  and  en 
close  them  by  this  mail  or  the  next. 

Yours  always  truly, 

DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


132  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

BOSTON,  30th  October,  1852. 

Dear  Sir,  — I  have  yours  of  yesterday.  The  only  letter 
of  Mr.  Webster  on  which  I  can  lay  my  hand  in  time  to 
forward  you,  as  you  request,  by  return  of  mail,  is  a  very 
short  one  which  you  copied,  I  presume,  last  summer. 
Having  myself  quoted  a  part  of  it  in  a  speech  in  Faneuil 
Hall  last  Wednesday,  there  is  the  less  impropriety  in  send 
ing  the  rest;  although  I  wish  I  could  send  you  one  in 
which  there  is  no  allusion  to  myself.  Most  of  the  letters 
which  I  receive  from  Mr.  Webster  are  of  too  confidential 
a  nature  to  be  published  for  a  long  time. 

I  remain,  with  much  regard,  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

P.  S.  I  have  a  letter  from  Mr.  Webster  in  which  you 
are  spoken  of,  which  I  will  send  you  if  it  can  be  got  at  in 
season.  The  letter  of  the  21st  of  July  was  in  answer  to 
an  invitation  to  attend  the  dinner  of  the  Alumni  at  Cam 
bridge. 

TJie  Enclosure. 

BOSTOX,  July  21, 1852. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  go  toNahant  this  morning,  and  if  that 
of  to-morrow  shall  open  with  the  same  prospect  of  a  burn 
ing  day  as  this  has  done,  I  shall  remain  in  the  Swallows' 
Cave,  or  other  shelves  of  the  rocks.  But  if  the  weather 
be  cooler,  I  shall  hope  to  be  with  you  at  dinner  at  Cam 
bridge.  It  will  be  delightful  to  me  to  meet  so  many  as 
will  l>e  there,  not  yet  starred  in  the  catalogue,  and  to  rec 
ollect  others  who  are. 

But  a  main  pleasure,  my  dear  sir,  will  be  to  hear  you,  to 
whose  voice  I  have  not  listened,  either  in  the  public  assem 
bly  or  at  the  head  of  the  table,  for  a  very  long  time.  We 


EDWARD    EVKRETT.  133 

now  and  then  see  stretching  across  the  heavens  a  long 
streak  of  clear,  blue,  cerulean  sky,  without  cloud  or  mist 
or  haze  ;  and  such  appears  to  me  our  acquaintance,  from 
the  time  when  I  heard  you  for  a  week  recite  your  lessons 
in  the  little  schoolhouse  in  Short  Street  to  the  date  hereof. 

Yours  always  truly, 

DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

The  above  was  intended  for  the  first  edition  of  the 
"  Private  Life,"  but  was  omitted  out  of  regard  for  the 
opinion  which  Mr.  Everett  subsequently  expressed,  that 
<k  it  would  be  out  of  taste  "  for  him  to  permit  its  publica 
tion  at  that  time.  There  were  other  reasons  also,  which 
soon  afterward  transpired,  calculated  to  keep  back  from 
the  printer  certain  other  letters,  already  in  the  possession 
of  the  author  ;  and  the  two  following  letters  from  Mr. 
Everett,  touching  their  disposition,  are  not  without  interest : 

BOSTON,  2d  November,  1852. 

Dear  /Sir,  — I  heard  yesterday,  what  I  did  not  know  be 
fore,  that  I  was  named  in  Mr.  Webster's  will  as  his  literary 
executor. 

This  has  led  me  to  reflect  seriously  upon  the  subject  of 
the  publication  of  his  letters.  They  will  form  the  most 
interesting  and  valuable  part  of  his  unpublished  writings. 
If  judiciously  collected  and  edited,  they  will  add,  if  pos 
sible,  to  his  fame  ;  and  they  will  have  a  great  pecuniary 
value  for  his  family.  It  is  highly  desirable,  therefore,  that 
they  should  not  be  published  in  detail,  but  that  they  should 
be  returned  to  the  family  for  the  purpose  of  publication 
en  masse.  Your  example,  from  your  known  connection 
with  Mr.  Webster,  and  attachment  to  his  person  and  mem 
ory,  will  be  apt  to  give  encouragement  to  others  who  have 


134  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

his  letters  in  their  possession ,  to  send  them  to  the  press. 
Would  it  not  be  better  for  you  to  withhold  them  ?  Legally, 
I  believe,  the  property  of  letters  is  in  the  writer,  except 
for  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  written.  I  do  not 
throw  out  this  hist  suggestion  with  a  view  to  influence  you, 
as  I  know  you  will  give  all  due  heed  to  the  other  views  of 
the  subject.  When  I  wrote  to  you  last  Saturday,  it  was 
in  the  haste  of  the  moment,  without  time  for  reflection  (as 
you  wished  an  answer  by  return  of  mail),  and  without 
knowing  that  Mr.  Webster  had  imposed  upon  me  any  duty 
in  reference  to  his  literary  remains. 

1  am,  dear  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

BOSTON,  21st  December,  1851. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  yours  of  the  19th,  with  a  copy  of  the 
"  Personal  Memoiials  "  of  Mr.  Webster.  I  have  had  time 
to  glance  only  at  a  few  pages  of  it,  but  they  are  enough 
to  satisfy  me  that  it  will  not  only  be  read  with  great  inter 
est  by  Mr.  Webster's  personal  friends,  but  render  good 
service  in  promoting  his  political  interests.  I  think  very 
favorably  of  your  suggestion  as  to  appending  Mr.  Choate's 
late  speech  to  a  new  edition  of  your  '•  Memorials." 

I  am  very  glad  you  found  the  anecdote  I  sent  you  worth" 
your  collection.  I  thought  it  very  interesting. 

I  will  look  at  such  of  Mr.  Webster's  letters  as  1  have 
preserved,  and  if  I  find  one  which  I  think  can  be  pub 
lished  with  propriety  and  advantage,  you  shall  have  it. 
This,  however,  is  not  very  likely  to  be  the  case  ;  inasmuch 
as  the  very  circumstances  which  give  interest  to  such  let 
ters  render  them  also  confidential. 

I  enclose  you  a  cutting  from  a  newspaper  which  states 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  135 

some  things  a  little  more  fully  than  I  have  seen  them  be 
fore,  although  others  are  given  inaccurately. 

The  name  of  the  historian  of  Norway,  at  the  bottom 
of  page  34  of  your  pamphlet,  should  be  Pontoppidan. 
There  is  a  little  over-statement  in  that  anecdote.  Page 
37th,  line  7th,  k%  diplomatique  corps"  would  look  better  if 
printed  corps  diplomatique.  As  both  the  words  an;  French, 
they  would  look  better  arranged  in  French  order  and 
printed  in  italics. 

There  was  a  dinner  given  at  Salem  to  Mr.  Webster  in 
1834.  In  a  toast  at  that  dinner  this  sentiment  was  given 
in  addition  to  his' name,  "The  highest  honors  of  the  Con 
stitution  to  its  ablest  defender."  I  believe  that  this  is  the 
first  occasion  on  which  such  an  allusion  was  distinctly 

made. 

Yours,  dear  sir,  very  truly, 

EDWAIID  EVEKKTT. 

P.  S.  Page  35,  in  the  anecdote  relative  to  the  Wash 
ington  medals,  line  7th,  there  is  a  proper  name  spelt  wrong. 
I  enclose  a  scrap  giving  an  extract  from  some  speech  of 
Mr.  Kantoul.  I  suppose  it  is  from  his  recent  eulogy  on 
Judge  Woodbury  ;  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  accurately 
given. 

BOSTON,  Dec.  20,  1851. 

Dear  Sir,  —  T  enclose  you  a  printed  article  by  Hon. 
Charles  Miner,  formerly  M.  C..  a  very  ingenious,  excellent 
person,  author  of  a  "  History  of  Wyoming."  The  article 
contains  one  or  two  personal  anecdotes  of  Mr.  Webster. 

In  preparing  a  new  edition  of  the  "  Personal  Memo 
rials,"  there  is  a  slight  inaccuracy  on  page  13th  which 
might  be  corrected,  viz.  :  "Li  addition  to  the  Latin  classics, 
he  studied  with  interest  both  Cicero  and  Virgil,"  etc.  In 


136  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

the  next  paragraph,  I  suppose  Mr.  Webster  had  the  di 
ploma  in  common  with  all  his  class.  Page  9,  Mr.  Abbott 
will  point  out  to  you  a  slight  inaccuracy  in  your  reference 
to  Mr.  Buckminster.  Page  23,  the  article  in  "The  North 
American  Review"  was  written  by  Mr.  Ticknor.  Page  26, 
Mr.  Otis  might  be  named  among  the  eminent  lawyers  of 
the  Boston  bar. 

What  I  said  in  my  former  letter  about  the  sea  serpent 
might  embarrass  you,  without  further  explanation.  I 
think  the  naturalists  of  Boston  could  not  have  pronounced 
the  small  serpent  alluded  to,  and  called  by  them  Scolisphis^ 
to  be  exactly  corresponding  with  that  described  in  Bishop 
Pontoppidan's  work,  which  is  a  terrific  monster,  rising  up 
from  the  sea  nearly  as  high  as  the  mast.  You.  might  say 
a  "  miniature  resemblance." 

Page  47,  Tautaug  is  misprinted  Taubang.  Captain 
Crocker  transmitted  from  Buzzard's  Bay  to  Massachusetts 
Bay  a  large  number  of  these  fish,  a  subscription  having 
been  raised  by  gentlemen  of  Boston  to  defray  the  expense. 
This  is  the  origin  of  the  black  fish  in  Massachusetts  Bay. 
I  had  this  from  Captain  Crocker  at  New  Bedford  in  1836. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  8th  November,  1852. 
Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  your  note  of  this  morning  with  four 
teen  letters  of  Mr.  Webster's,  which  E  shall  lose  no  time 
in  transmitting  to  my  associates  in  Boston.  I  shall  be 
happy,  when  it  is  convenient  to  you,  to  receive  the  other 
letters  to  which  you  allude. 

Yours,  dear  sir,  very  truly, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 


EDWARD    EVKHKTT.  137 

A  letter  which  the  writer  happens  to  have  in  his  posses 
sion,  written  by  Mr.  Everett  to  Mr.  Webster,  gives  such  a 
pleasing  insight  into  the  editorial  labors  of  the  former,  that 
110  apology  is  needed  for  preserving  it  in  this  place  :  — 

CAMBRIDGE,  25th  August,  1852. 

Dear  N/V,  —  I  received  yours  of  the  23d  yesterday,  and 
was  much  relieved  by  it.  I  should  not  only  have  been 
very  sorry  to  omit  the  tariff  speech  in  question,  but  should 
have  been  perplexed  from  not  knowing  the  principle  of 
exclusion.  I  enclose  you  the  list  of  speeches  to  go  with 
the  fifth  volume,  as  drawn  out  by  Mr.  Abbott.  The  pencil 
marks  record  what  he  understood  you  to  say  when  he  read 
the  list  to  you.  He  may  have  read  it  to  you  at  a  moment 
of  uneasiness  or  preoccupation.  The  indications  of  the 
subjects  of  the  speeches  may  sometimes  be  too  brief  to 
recall  them  distinctly  to  your  memory.  You  can,  if  you 
please,  run  it  over,  and  mark  with  your  pencil  what  is  to 
be  inserted  or  what  omitted.  If  you  do  not  recollect  suf 
ficiently  to  decide,  I  will  do  my  best.  I  ought  to  have  the 
paper  back,  if  possible,  by  return  of  mail. 

I  sincerely  hope  that  your  native  air  and  comparative 
repose  will  protect  you  from  your  unwelcome  annual  vis 
itant.  It  is  not  without  compunction  that  I  invade  your 
retreat.  I  would  not  with  any  business  which  could  be 
done  by  any  one  else. 

Yours,  ever  sincerely, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

P.  S.  Mr.  Abbott  gave  me  to  understand  that,  in  the 
speech  in  vindication  of  the  treaty  of  Washington,  you 
wished  Mr.  C.  J.  Ingersoll  to  be  let  off  more  gently  than 
he  is  in  the  speech  as  delivered  by  you.  It  is  not  very 
easy  to  mako  a  trip  hammer  strike  a  little  more  softly,  but 
1  will  do  what  I  can. 


138  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

With  regard  to  the  great  mass  of  letters  addressed  by 
Mr.  Webster  to  Mr.  Everett,  it  may  here  be  stated  that  the 
largest  proportion  of  them  are  to  be  found  in  the  ' '  Private 
Correspondence"  of  the  former,  published  in  1857.  And 
now,  by  way  of  showing  how  Mr.  Everett  never  omitted 
to  do  a  kind  action  when  in  his  power,  and  more  especially 
when  it  was  in  any  way  connected  with  Mr.  Webster,  the 
following  note  is  appended.  It  should  be  stated,  by  way 
of  explanation,  that  when  Mr.  Everett  was  Secretary  of 
State  the  writer  had  charge  of  the  Copyright  Bureau  in 
that  department ;  that  there  was  a  messenger  in  the  same 
department  who  had  been  devotedly  attached  to  Mr.  Web 
ster  ;  that  he  was  eminently  qualified  to  perform  the  duties 
of  a  copying  clerk,  and  was  exceedingly  anxious  for  pro 
motion  ;  and  when  the  writer  set  forth  these  facts  in  a  note 
to  Mr.  Everett,  in  connection  with  an  existing  vacancy, 
the  following  was  his  reply  :  — 


DEPARTMENT  or  STATE,  3d  December,  1852. 
Dear  /Sir,  —  I  was  very  happy  to  comply  with  your  rec 
ommendation  in  the  appointment  of  Mr.  George  Bartle. 
I  had  already  given  the  place  to  a  nephew,  who  is  on  his 
wav  to  AVashington,  as  I  was  desirous  of  having  a  relative 
near  me  whom  I  could  occasionally  employ  in  matters  of 
personal  confidence.     But  as  soon  as  I  heard   that  Mr. 
Bartle  had   earned  the  place  by  faithful  service  in  a  sub 
ordinate  capacity,  I  determined  he  should  have  it. 

I  remain,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

The  letter  which  follows  will  speak  for  itself :  — 


EDWARD    EVERETT.  139 

WASHINGTON,  19th  February,  1853. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  copy  of 
the  English  edition  of  your  life  of  Mr.  Webster,  kindly 
sent  with  your  note  of  yesterday. 

I  fully  concur  with  the  opinions  expressed  by  Mr.  Irving, 
on  the  subject  of  ti  collective  edition  of  your  narrative  and 
tiAseriptive  writings.  Having,  during  all  the  time  simv 
tlu'y  began  to  appear,  been  engaged  on  ollicial  duties  which 
have  left  me  but  little  time  for  general  reading,  I  am  not 
familiar  with  all  of  them  ;  but  from  what  I  have  read  of 
them  and  from  Mr.  Irving's  emphatic  and  discriminating 
commendation,  I  am  confident  the  series  would  be  wel 
comed  by  a  large  class  of  readers. 

You  have  explored  nooks  in  our  scenery  seldom  visited, 
and  described  forms  of  life  and  manners  of  which  the 
greater  part  of  our  busy  population  are  wholly  ignorant. 
Topics  of  this  kind,  though  briefly  sketched,  are  or  ought 
to  be,  in  this  country,  of  far  greater  interest  than  the  at 
tempted  descriptions  of  fashionable  life  in  Europe,  which 
form  the  staple  of  those  trashy  works  of  fiction  constantly 
poured  in  upon  us  from  abroad. 

Wishing  you  much  success  in  your  proposed  undertaking, 

I  remain,  very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

When  the  collected  writings,  mentioned  above,  were 
published,  I  sent  Mr.  Everett  a  copy,  and  he  returned  the 
following  :  — 

BOSTON,  2d  January,  1857. 

Dear  Sir,  —  T  duly  received  your  letter  of  the  30th,  and 
this  day  the  promised  volumes  came  to  hand.  I  am  much 
obliged  to  you  for  your  kindness  in  sending  them.  A 


140  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

liasty  glance  at  their  contents  convinces  me  that,  in  the 
novelty  and  variety  of  the  topics  treated,  I  shall  find  a  rich 
treat  for  more  than  one  leisure  hour. 

I  remain,  dear  sir,  with  the  friendly  salutations  of  the 
year,  Very  truly  yours, 

EDWARD  EVERETT. 

His  opinion  of  my  "Dictionary  of  Congress,"  a  copy 
of  which  I  sent  him  in  March,  1859,  was  as  follows: 
"I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  present  of  a  copy  of 
this  valuable  publication.  It  must  prove  an  extremely 
convenient  and  useful  book  of  reference.  You  will  be 
pleased  to  accept  my  thanks  for  your  friendly  notice  of 
myself." 

I  have  many  other  letters  from  Mr.  Everett,  but  they  do 
not  come  within  the  limits  of  my  present  plan. 


PARK   BENJAMIN. 

AMONG  those  who,  by  their  profession  and  genius,  have 
exerted  an  extensive  and  a  happy  influence  on  the  litera 
ture  of  the  United  States,  and  especially  the  weekly  press, 
Park  Benjamin  must  always  be  numbered.  His  family 
came  originally  from  AVales,  and  was  of  the  highest  re 
spectability.  His  father,  whose  name  he  inherited,  was  a 
leading  merchant  in  Demerara,  British  Guiana  ;  but  as  a 
branch  of  his  house  was  located  in  New  England,  he  was 
wont  to  spend  much  of  his  time  in  Boston  or  New  Haven  ; 
and  it  was  while  making  a  voyage  to  South  America,  in 
one  of  his  own  ships,  that  he  was  lost  at  sea.  no  tidings 
having  ever  been  heard  from  the  vessel  or  her  princely 
owner.  His  mother,  while  residing  in  Boston,  and  after  a 


PARK    BENJAMIN.  141 

prolonged  widowhood,  became  ths  second  wife  of  the  Hon. 
James  Lanman,  and  settled  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  where, 
while  a  widow  for  the  second  time,  she  died  from  the 
effects  of  her  clothes  taking  lire  when  she  was  alone  in  her 
chamber.  Park  had  one  brother  younger  than  himself, 
and  possessing  rare  accomplishments,  who,  in  the  enjoy 
ment  of  a  handsome  patrimony,  spent  the  most  of  his  life 
in  Europe,  and  died  in  Italy.  lie  left  behind  him  two 
sisters,  one  of  whom  lost  her  husband,  a  gentleman  of 
superior  culture  and  many  virtues,  named  Louis  Stackpole, 
by  a  railway  accident ;  while  the  other  sister  became  the 
wife  of  the  eminent  historian,  John  L.  Motley. 

The  birthplace  of  Park  Benjamin  was  Demerara,  and 
the  year  of  his  birth,  1809  ;  and  although  he  only  spent  his 
childhood  in  Guiana,  he  brought  away  to  New  England 
one  recollection  which  followed  him  to  the  grave.  The 
physician  who  had  him  in  charge,  while  yet  a  babe,  sub 
jected  him  to  an  injudicious  and  baneful  process  of  bath 
ing,  thereby  bringing  upon  him  a  permanent  lameness. 
When  quite  young,  that  is,  in  1825,  he  entered  Harvard 
University,  but  on  account  of  his  health  was  obliged  to 
leave  it  before  the  close  of  his  second  year ;  but  soon  re 
gaining  it,  he  entered  Washington  College  at  Hartford, 
and  after  graduating  with  the  highest  honors  in  1829,  he 
went  through  a  course  of  legal  studies  at  Cambridge,  and 
also  at  New  Haven,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  both  in 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts.  Among  his  intimate 
associates  while  in  college  at  Hartford  was  no  less  noted 
a  personage  than  N.  P.  Willis,  at  that  time  a  student  at 
Yale  College.  These  birds  of  a  feather,  on  the  score  of 
genius,  were  quite  intimate,  but  at  a  certain  dinner  party 
in  New  Haven  a  quarrel  sprung  up  between  them  which 
resulted  in  a  life-long  alienation.  An  opinion  had  been 


142  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

expressed  by  Willis  which  Benjamin  thought  outrageous, 
and,  as  a  lady  was  involved  in  the  affair,  the  latter  felt  it 
to  be  his  duty  to  destroy  the  matrimonial  aspirations  of 
the  former,  and  so  for  a  time  the  trouble  seemed  to  have 
been  forgotten  by  all  the  parties  concerned.  Many  years 
afterwards,  however,  and  while  yet  rankling  under  the 
supposed  wrong  which  he  had  endured,  Willis  thought 
proper  to  revenge  himself  in  a  manner  that  would  be  likely 
to  quiet  his  animosity  forever.  He  did  this  by  writing  and 
printing  a  dramatic  poem  entitled  "Don  Pedro  and  his  Two 
Sisters,"  in  which  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  ridicule  the 
lameness  of  his  old  enemy,  and  by  that  act,  in  my  opinion, 
he  greatly  injured  his  own  fair  fame.  Should  any  of  those 
who  have  since  then  suffered  from  the  critical  pen  of  Park 
Benjamin  make  the  retort  that  he  was  justly  served  by 
Willis,  they  ought  to  remember  that  while  it  is  excusable 
in  a  critic  to  condemn  a  stupid  or  unworthy  book,  it  is 
against  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  civilized  society  for 
any  one  to  make  sport  of  the  physical  misfortunes  of  a 
fellow-man. 

Prompted  by  his  tastes,  and  perhaps  by  his  inability  to 
move  about  like  other  men,  Mr.  Benjamin  early  determined 
to  devote  bimself  to  literary  pursuits,  not  so  much  for  the 
purpose  of  making  money,  for  he  inherited  a  handsome 
fortune,  but  for  his  own  personal  amusement.  In  1835  he 
purchased  the  New  Enyland  Magazine  of  its  able  and  dis 
tinguished  founder,  Joseph  T.  Buckingham,  and  during  the 
closing  year  of  its  existence,  edited  it  with  discretion  and 
ability  It  was  at  that  time  that  he  formed  the  acquaint 
ance  of  such  men  as  Charles  Sprague,  Richard  H.  Dana, 
Henry  W.  Longfellow,  and  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  and  I 
happen  to  know  that  all  these  gifted  poets  always  com 
manded  his  veneration  and  esteem.  The  touching  lyrics 


PARK   BENJAMIN.  143 

of  the  first,  he  knew  by  heart ;  the  " Buccaneer"  was  his 
particular  friend  ;  the  *•  Voices  of  the  Night"  sank  deeply 
into  his  soul,  and  lie  had  a  yearning  affection  for4 'The 
Last  Leaf,"  and  was  wont  to  shout  like  a  wild  boy  as 
"  The  Old  Ironsides"  passed  across  his  vision. 

In  183G  the  New  Eityhtnd  Mayazine  was  joined  to  the 
American  Monthly  Muyazine,  published  in  New  York,  of 
which  periodical  he  was  the  chief  editor  for  two  years, 
although  receiving  valuable  aid  from  its  preceding  editor, 
Charles  F.  Hoffman.  lie  also  acted  for  a  time  as  reader 
for  the  house  of  Dearborn  &  Co.  From  that  time  he  be 
came  a  resident  of  New  York,  and  continued  to  make  his 
home  there  during  nearly  all  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In 
1838  he  joined  Horace  Greeley  in  the  editorship  of  the  New 
Yorker,  a  weekly  journal  devoted  to  politics  and  literature. 
They  remained  together  only  about  two  years,  when  the 
paper,  though  ably  conducted,  died  for  the  want  of  profit 
able  support,  and  Mr.  Greeley  turned  his  mind  upon  the 
Daily  Tribune,  and  Mr.  Benjamin,  with  the  old  publisher 
of  the  New  Yorker  to  help  him,  — Mr.  J.  Winchester,— 
proceeded  to  establish  a  mammoth  weekly  called  The  New 
World.  This  journal  he  conducted  for  five  years  with  an 
enterprise,  a  gusto,  and  an  ability  which  greatly  extended 
his  reputation  as  an  editor,  and  gave  the  American  people 
some  new  ideas  in  regard  to  periodical  literature.  lie 
gathered  about  himself  a  host  of  the  best  writers  of  the 

O 

day,  paid  them  handsomely,  and,  for  the  time  being,  ruled 
the  town  as  its  "guide,  counsellor,  and  friend"  in  all 
matters  appertaining  to  popular  literature.  Among  those 
whose  productions  he  published  were  such  men  as  John  (). 
and  Epes  Sargent,  James  Aldrich,  Wm.  M.  Evarts,  II.  C. 
Deming,  Edgar  A.  Poe,  II.  W.  Herbert,  Kufus  W.  Gris- 
wold,  John  Neal,  I.  D.  Hammond,  W.  A.  Duer,  E.  S. 


144  HAPHAZARD  PERSONALITIES. 

Gould,  Charles  Eames,  II.  W.  Longfellow,  Oliver  W. 
Holmes,  and  many  others.  He  also  originated  the  plan  of 
republishing  in  cheap  form  the  most  popular  books  issued 
in  England,  and  thereby  made  a  decided  inroad  for  a  time 
upon  the  book-publishing  business  of  several  leading  firms. 
The  idea  of  being  in  constant  communication  with  the 
great  reading  multitude  throughout  the  land,  instead  of  a 
select  literary  public,  as  had  hitherto  been  his  fortune, 
haunted  him  for  a  time  like  a  passion.  He  carried  his  en 
terprise  so  far  as  to  issue  an  edition  of  the  valuable  but 
almost  forgotten  "  Chronicles  of  Froissart,"  and  employed 
the  ablest  writers  he  could  command  to  supply  him  with 
early  translations  of  Eugene  Sue  and  other  popular  French 
authors.  The  five  years  during  which  he  wielded  the  scep 
tre  of  the  World  were  the  busiest  of  his  life.  He  was  a 
bachelor  at  the  time,  and  lived  in  handsome  style.  When 
at  his  office  he  worked  without  ceasing,  and  very  hard,  but 
the  moment  he  emancipated  himself  from  business,  off  he 
started  in  his  gig  to  enjoy  fresh  air  and  amuse  himself  with 
the  novelties  of  the  town.  He  was  fond  of  a  handsome 
horse,  and  was  expert  in  driving ;  he  also  loved  a  good 
dog,  and  always  had  one  for  a  companion.  He  knew 
everybody,  and  was  fond  of  entertaining  his  friends,  and 
his  little  dinner  parties  were  delightful  in  the  extreme. 
His  house  was  filled  with  books  and  pictures,  and  all  the 
fresh  publications  of  the  world  were  constantly  deposited 
in  his  home  library,  as  if  by  magic.  He  was  an  admirable 
reader,  and  talked  magnificently  ;  and  when  in  the  mood, 
after  a  repast  that  could  not  well  be  excelled,  and  he  hap 
pened  to  have  some  special  friends  at  table,  one  of  whom 
was  the  rising  lawyer,  William  M.  Evarts,  he  would  wheel 
his  chair  into  his  favorite  position  and  pour  forth  a  flood 
of  wit  and  poetry,  selected  and  original,  which  always 


PARK   BENJAMIN.  145 

seemed  to  be  inexhaustible,  and  not  likely  ever  to  be  for 
gotten  by  those  who  listened  to  him.  On  one  occasion 
that  I  remember  —  a  Sunday  evening  —  while  he  was  cut 
ting  the  leaves  of  a  new  edition  of  Coleridge's  poems, 
three  gentlemen  called  in,  merely  to  make  a  momentary 
visit.  One  of  them  was  a  clergyman,  and  engaged  to 
preach  a  sermon  at  St.  Paul's  in  about  an  hour ;  another 
was  a  lawyer  who  had  promised  to  take  a  lady  to  hear  the 
preacher  ;  and  the  other  was  a  young  gentleman  who  had 
a  special  engagement  with  his  lady-love.  Not  one  of 
them,  it  so  happened,  was  familiar  with  "The  Ancient  Mar 
iner,"  and  when  Mr.  Benjamin  found  this  out  by  accident, 
he  directed  his  visitors  to  be  quiet,  and  said  that  he  would 
read  it  to  them.  They  remonstrated  and  pleaded  their 
several  excuses,  but  his  "glittering  eye"  fixed  them  in 
their  seats,  and  they  were  silent.  lie  read  with  a  power 
that  was  as  marvellous  as  the  poem  itself;  he  "  had  his 
will,"  and  the  guests  all  listened,  oblivious  of  everything 
but  the  weird  form  of  "The  Ancient  Mariner."  Of  course 
the  programme  at  St.  Paul's  was  changed,  and  a  dozen 
years  thereafter  the  aforesaid  clergyman  was  wont  to  speak 
of  Mr.  Benjamin  xs  "that  rascally  Park." 

With  the  winding  up  of  the  New  World  terminated  the 
only  really  successful  business  career  which  he  ever  ex 
perienced.  Those  who  knew  him  best  were  astonished 
that  he  had  continued  in  it  for  even  five  years.  He  sub 
sequently  made  one  or  two  other  ventures  in  the  periodical 
line,  but  was  not  successful.  His  last  effort  was  made  in 
Baltimore.  Then  it  was  that  he  had  the  good  sense  to 
take  unto  himself  a  wife,  and  from  that  time  until  his 
death  he  occupied  his  time  in  a  quiet  manner,  with  the 
pleasures  of  literature,  with  the  education  of  his  children 
(all  of  whom  inherited  a  goodly  portion  of  his  rare  talents), 
10 


146  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  with  the  congenial  employment  of  delivering  an  occa 
sional  lecture  or  poem.  He  died  at  his  residence  in  New 
York,  Sept.  12,  1864. 

As  a  man  he  commanded  the  respect  of  all  who  knew 
him.  Though  impulsive  and  somewhat  domineering  in  his 
manners,  he  delighted  in  doing  good  with  kind  words  and 
with  his  purse.  He  respected  religious  men,  but  despised 
the  hypocrite  and  pretender.  He  was,  indeed,  quite  pop 
ular  with  the  clergy  ;  and  once,  when  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
asked  him  why  he  did  not  come  and  hear  him  preach,  he 
replied,  "  I  do  not  visit  places  of  amusement  on  Sunday." 
As  a  scholar  his  acquirements  were  very  extensive,  but  he 
was  too  impulsive  by  nature  to  make  the  best  use  of  them. 
As  a  critic  he  was  disposed  to  be  severe  ;  he  did  not 
always  spare  even  his  friends  when  an  opportunity  offered 
to  say  a  smart  thing  at  their  expense ;  and  when  he 
thought  an  author  really  unworthy,  he  took  pleasure  in 
covering  him  with  ridicule. 

In  all  this  there  was  no  real  malice,  for  it  resulted 
chiefly  from  a  love  of  fun.  In  the  epigrammatic  style  of 
his  prose,  he  resembled  William  Hazlitt  That  he  was  a 
decided  wit  was  universally  conceded  by  his  friends  and 
acquaintance  ;  and  as  a  public  speaker,  whether  deliver 
ing  an  ordinary  lecture,  or  reciting  one  of  his  satirical 
poems,  he  was  sometimes  exceedingly  eloquent.  His  per 
sonal  appearance,  when  seated,  was  imposing.  His  head 
was  large,  eyes  of  a  light  hazel,  and  his  bust  massive  ;  but 
his  lameness  was  of  such  a  character  as  to  make  the  use 
of  two  crutches  constantly  necessary.  He  had  a  ringing 
but  musical  voice,  and  when  he  felt  well,  and  was  on  the 
"high  horse"  of  excitement,  he  used  it  very  much  after 
the  manner  of  a  stalwart  mariner  in  a  gale  of  wind,  and 
oftentimes  to  the  great  amusement  of  his  friends.  He 


PARK   BENJAMIN.  147 

died  after  a  brief  illness,  of  an  inflammatory  disease, 
deeply  lamented  by  a  large  circle  of  personal  and  literary 
friends. 

The  ruling  traits  of  Mr.  Benjamin's  character  are  to  be 
found  in  his  poetry.  While  it  may  be  true  that  a  greater 
part  of  his  critical  writings  were  thrown  off  upon  compul 
sion,  and  in  obedience  to  the  printer's  cry  for  ''copy,"  his 
poetry  was  generally  the  offspring  of  his  heart.  No  col 
lection  of  his  poetical  writings  was  ever  made  by  himself, 
and  hitherto  they  have  been  enjoyed  by  those  only  who 
had  the  opportunity  to  consult  the  files  of  the  New  Eng 
land  Magazine,  the  American  Monthly,  the  Knickerbocker, 
the  Democratic  Review,  the  New  Yorker,  the  New  World, 
the  Southern  Literary  Messenger,  and  also  several  leading 
daily  journals  of  the  day.  It  is  true,  that  R.  W.  (Iris- 
wold,  in  his  compilation  of  "  American  Poetry,"  gives  us 
about  twenty  of  his  pieces,  but  they  do  not  begin  to  do 
him  justice. 

A  poem  entitled  "  The  Meditation  of  Nature,"  which  he 
delivered  before  the  Alumni  of  Washington  College,  in 
1832,  stamped  him  from  the  start  as  a  man  of  genius  and 
a  poet.  His  next  elaborate  poem  was  a  satire  on  the  sub 
ject  of  "Poetry,"  which  he  delivered  before  the  Mercantile 
Library,  of  New  York,  in  1842,  which  was  received  with 
great  applause,  and  had  an  extensive  circulation  in 
pamphlet  form.  In  1<S4.">  he  appeared  before  a  Boston 
audience  with  a  poem  on  "Infatuation."  This  was  also  a 
satire,  and  an  improvement,  perhaps,  on  his  previous  ef 
fort  in  the  same  style. 

But  the  lyrical  writings  of  Park  Benjamin  occupy  a 
higher  ground  than  his  satires,  and  they  are,  at  the  same 
time,  much  more  extensive.  It  is  through  them,  more 
over,  that  we  gain  the  best  insight  into  his  character.  The 


148  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

sentiment  of  love  inspired  many  of  his  shorter  poems, 
but,  in  the  great  majority  of  his  effusions,  he  could  not 
help  giving  expression  to  a  love  which  embraced  the  whole 
of  human  kind.  Although  it  was  not  his  fortune  to  see 
much  of  the  ocean,  in  his  maturity,  the  fact  that  he  had 
voyaged  on  the  Atlantic  when  a  child  inspired  him  with 
a  love  of  the  sea,  and  it  made  him  happy  to  sing  of  the 
"Nautilus,"  the  "Stormy  Petrel,"  and  the  "Mariners," 
whose  homes  were  on  the  deep.  With  wit  and  fun  his 
nature  was  overflowing,  and  his  satires  give  us  a  taste  of 
his  quality  in  those  particulars  ;  in  his  lyrics  he  seldom 
ventured  beyond  the  bounds  of  quiet  humor  ;  but  in  efforts 
of  this  kind  he  was  always  happy.  When  the  Rebellion  of 
1801  broke  out,  his  sympathies  flew  at  once  to  the  Union 
cause,  and  some  of  his  poems,  bearing  upon  the  war,  are 
full  of  spirit  and  nobly  patriotic.  But,  after  all,  he  was 
most  at  home  when  dealing  with  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
and  especially  with  the  holier  emotions  of  the  heart. 
While  I  think  that  he  did  well  in  all  that  he  wrote,  and 
much  better  than  many  of  his  competitors,  in  some  partic 
ulars  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he  excelled  all  his 
American  rivals  as  a  writer  of  sonnets.  He  had  a  special 
fondness  for  this  peculiar  branch  of  the  poetic  art,  and 
was  never  more  happy  than  when  rolling  out,  in  his  win 
ning  and  flexible  tones,  to  willing  auditors,  some  of  the 
masterly  sonnets  of  Shakespeare  or  Milton,  Sydney, 
Bowles,  or  Wordsworth.  In  what  he  attempted  to  do  he 
generally  succeeded.  He  wielded  the  critic's  pen  for  the 
public  weal,  and  accomplished  much  good  undoubtedly, 
but  when  his  efforts  in  that  line  are  all  forgotten,  his  poe 
try  will  have  found  a  permanent  resting-place  in  the  minds 
and  hearts  of  all  those  who  can  appreciate  the  productions 
of  true  genius.  He  left  a  son  bearing  his  own  name,  who 


PARK    BENJAMIN.  Ill) 

seems    to    have    inherited    muck   of   his    father's    literary 
ability. 

Of  the  many  letters  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  Benjamin,  I  sub 
mit  only  the  following,  the  first  containing  an  allusion  to 
my  connection  with  the  Cincinnati  Chronicle,  and  when  he 
was  conducting  The  American  Continent :  — 

BALTIMORE,  April  4,  1846. 

My  dear  Charles,  —  So  you  are  once  more  seated  in 
the  chair  editorial.  I  was  very  glad  to  see  it,  and  I  trust 
you  will  not  soon  desert  your  present  position,  —  it  is  a 
highly  favorable  and  honorable  one,  —  and  you  may  rely 
upon  this,  if  you  stick  to  your  seat,  persevere,  labor,  never 
give  up,  you  will  attain  all  the  success  your  ambition  pic 
tures.  I  feel  truly  obliged  by  your  smashing  of  Lester ; 
I  shall  give  him  this  week  a  finishing  stroke  in  the  shape 
of  a  letter  from  Powers,  of  which  I  will  send  you  an  early 
copy,  so  that  you  may  transfer  it  to  your  columns,  with 
such  comments  as  you  deem  proper. 

You  will  soon  see  in  the  Continent  such  a  notice  of 
yourself,  in  your  present  connection,  as  will  please  you. 
Our  enterprise  here  has  been  quite  successful,  though  I 
cannot  say  I  am  particularly  in  love  with  Baltimore  as  a 
residence.  The  women  are  beautiful  as  Hebes,  but  the 
men  are  a  sleepy  set,  though  capital  good  fellows  socially. 
There  is  noplace  for  me  like  New  York,  and  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  we  should  take  up  our  whole  printing  establish 
ment  and  walk  back  there  one  of  these  warm  summer 
mornings.  We  intend  nothing  of  the  sort  at  present,  but 
we  shall  see.  There  is  probably  no  city  in  the  country  in 
which  there  is  so  little  literary  taste  as  here.  It  is  neither 
North  nor  South.  But  I  shall  have  effected  all  the  object 
I  had  in  coining  here,  and  that  is  a  comfort.  Our  con- 


150  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

cern,  William  Taylor  &  Co.,  has  a  house  in  New.  York 
and  one  in  Philadelphia.  If  you  will  say  a  word  in  our 
favor,  as  publishers  and  clever  fellows  for  Western  folks 
to  deal  with,  you  will  confer  a  favor  on  me. 

I  suppose  you  often  hear  from  home.  They  were  all 
well  and  nourishing  when  I  last  heard  from  Norwich.  1 
trust  we  shall  meet  there  this  summer. 

Affectionately  and  truly  yours, 

PARK  BENJAMIN. 

My  dear  Charley,  —  Addressing  you  thus,  with  the 
familiarity  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne,"  I  ask  of  you  a  special 
favor.  You  are,  I  presume,  personally  acquainted  with 
Welles,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Will  you  speak  a 
word  to  him  personally,  if  you  can  possibly  create  the 
opportunity,  in  favor  of  the  nomination  of  my  son,  Park, 
as  midshipman  in  the  Naval  Academy  ?  Mr.  Secretary  has 
power  to  nominate  to  all  vacancies  ;  and  there  are  just 
now  a  good  many,  the  Southern  districts  being  unapplied 
for.  I  think  Mr.  Welles  most  favorably  disposed  towards 
me,  and  I  feel  sure  that  a  word  "  spoken  in  season  "  to 
him  will  be  effectual.  Will  you  now  take  or  make  occasion 
to  say  to  the  Secretary  that  necessary  word  in  behalf  of 
the  child  of  your  ancient  friend?  Park  is  a  fine  boy,  con 
siderably  above  the  usual  size  of  lads  of  fourteen,  in  good 
health  and  very  well  educated.  He  has  all  the  requisites 
of  the  printed  regulations,  and  would,  I  am  sure,  pass  a 
most  satisfactory  examination.  I  am  not  aware  that  this 
administration,  except  barely  in  the  appointment  of  my 
brother-in-law,  Motley,  to  Austria,  has  done  anything  to 
reward  or  even  recognize  the  services  of  literary  men  to 
the  country.  Perhaps  you  might  hint  something  of  the 


PARK    BENJAMIN.  151 

sort  to  Mr.  Welles.  Of  one  thing  I  am  confident,  my 
son's  appointment  to  the  Academy  would  be  most  favorably 
received  by  my  confreres  of  the  newspaper  press.  Such 
unpolitical  appointments  —  when  politics  create  poor  gen 
erals  and  poor  custom-house  tide-waiters — are  always, 
as  you  know,  cordially  commended  by  the  press  and  the 
public.  Do  what  you  can,  my  old  friend,  in  behalf  of  my 
son. 

We  are  living  here  at  No.  75  West  45th  Street,  near 
neighbors  to  your  sister  Julia,  who  is  at  86  West  43d 
Street.  She  has  been  most  neighborly  and  kind. 

I  am  indebted  to  you  for  a  couple  of  introductory  epis 
tles  to  "  parties,"  as  the  English  say,  in  Canada.  I  had 
no  occasion  to  use  them,  as  I  went  no  farther  than  Toronto, 
but  I  am  grateful  for  the  favor,  nevertheless,  and  espe 
cially  gratified  since  it  was  conferred  by  you. 

I  pray  you  help  me,  if  you  can,  by  a  few  words  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  believe  me,  as  of  yore, 

Truly  yours, 

PARK  BENJAMIN. 
NEW  YORK,  June  6, 1863. 

NEW  YORK,  Nov.  17,  1863. 

My  dear  Charley,  — I  am  engaged  to  lecture  in  Wash 
ington  on  Friday,  Dec.  4,  by  a  Mr.  Wolf,  of  Wolf  & 
Hart,  attorneys.  Is  he  "good"  and  to  be  relied  on? 
Terms,  $100  and  hotel  expenses.  I  expect,  accompanied 
by  my  son  George,  to  be  in  Washington  on  the  3d  or 
4th.  Do  you  want  us  to  come  and  make  you  a  small 
visit?  As  I  abominate  hotels,  I  would  willingly  save  Mr. 
Wolf  the  expense,  especially  as  my  doing  so  might  induce 
him  to  give  the  same  money  for  one  or  two  more  lectures, 
this  and  following.  Now  write  me  candidly  in  reply  how 


152  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

you  are  at  present  situated,  whether  perfectly  convenient 
and  so  forth. 

The  probability  is  that  I  shall  not  remain  except  for  a 
day  ;  but  I  may  for  some  days,  in  which  case  I  suppose  I 
could  find  some  quiet  abiding-place,  and  not  be  compelled 
to  go  to  one  of  those  huge  caravansaries  whose  stairs  I 
can't  get  up  and  down.  Do  you  know  Mr.  Wolf  ?  If  not, 
can't  you  see  and  confer  with  him  as  to  engaging  for  me  a 
quiet  apartment  low  down-stairs  somewhere.  There  used 
to  be  in  "Washington  some  good  lodgings,  kept  by  "  con 
trabands,"  that  would  suit  me  exactly.  But  I  can't  go  up 
to  a  sk}T-parlor  in  a  hotel. 

Let  me  hear  from  you  as  soon  as  convenient,  and  tell 
me  of  a  good,  first-rate  place,  not  a  hotel,  if  you  know  of 
one.  Affectionately, 

PARK  BENJAMIN. 

P.  S.  I  did  not,  as  I  think  I  explained  to  you,  pro 
pose  to  visit  you  (in  acceptance  of  your  invitation)  on  the 
score  of  economy.  Mr.  Wolf's  bargain  is  to  pay  me  $100 
and  my  expenses  at  hotel  in  Washington.  I  hope  he  wrill 
conclude  to  have  a  second  lecture  on  the  Monday  evening 
following,  namely,  on  Monday,  Dec.  7  ;  I  think  it  would 
pay  him,  and  it  certainly  would  pay  me  better  for  coming 
so  far.  Pray  try  and  use  your  influence  to  have  him  do  so. 


YORK,  Nov.  24,  18G3. 
My  dear  Charles,  —  I  find  your  letter  on  getting  home 
to-night.  I  fully  appreciate  your  kindness.  I  should  not 
have  thought  of  coming  to  your  house  at  all,  had  you  not 
so  particularly  invited  me  when  you  were  in  New  York, 
but  I  suppose  the  staircases  were  differently  constructed 
at  that  time  ;  but,  seriously  speaking,  I  feel  truly  obliged 


PAUK    BENJAMIN.  lf>3 

to  you,  and  shall  be  very  grateful  for  all  that  you  can  say 
in  the  Intelligencer,  or  elsewhere,  about  my  lectures. 

I  hope  you  are  not  going  out  of  Washington  on  purpose, 
so  as  not  to  be  bored  with  going  to  the  lectures. 

I  shall  be  sorry  to  be  denied  the  pleasure  of  a  sight  of 
your  dear,  familiar  visage. 

Mr.  Wolf  wrote  me,  there  is  somewhere  in  Washington 
a  3/r.s\  Patten,  who  used  to  board  rne  in  New  York.  She 
keeps  house,  and  I  wish  she  could  be  discovered,  she 
woirld  be  glad  to  give  me  her  best  room.  But  I  have  not 
her  address. 

Is  Donald  Macleod  in  the  Treasury  Department  ?  See 
him  and  ask  him  why  he  did  not  answer  my  letters,  please. 

George,  my  son,  will  come  with  me.  I  dare  say  you 
and  Mr.  Wolf  will  find  me  some  quiet  lodging. 

Affectionately, 

PARK  BENJAMIN. 

There  is,  in  Professor  Longfellow's  u  Outre  Mer,"  an 
affecting  incident,  beautifully  told,  of  the  death  of  a  young 
Irishman,  who  had  come  to  Italy  to  study  at  the  Jesuit 
College  in  Rome,  and  had  taken  the  orders  of  a  Capuchin 
friar.  The  original  draft  of  a  poem  written  by  Mr.  Ben 
jamin  on  this  subject,  entitled  "  The  Capuchin  Friar," 
was  presented  to  me,  and  I  print  it  with  great  pleasure. 

While  dying,  the  Friar  knew  of  his  situation,  but  would 
not  give  up  the  hope  of  reaching  his  own  home  before  his 
decease.  He  spoke  of  his  return  to  his  native  land  with 
childish  delight.  This  hope  had  not  deserted  him.  It 
seemed  never  to  have  entered  his  mind  that  even  this  con 
solation  would  be  denied  him,  and  that  death  would 
thwart  even  these  fond  anticipations.  "  I  shall  soon  be 
well  enough,"  said  he. 


154  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

"  Oh,  I  shall  soon  be  well ;  I  shall  not  die 
Beneath  the  glories  of  this  melting  sky,  — 
These  soft,  deep  hues  that  bathe  the  classic  land 
Of  Italy.     These  gales  that  are  so  bland, 
So  balmy,  and  so  cool,  upon  my  grave 
Shall  not,  at  vesper's  chiming,  rest  and  wave! 
Tell  me  not  I  am  dying ;  for  I  feel 
New  blood  nectarian  through  my  arteries  steal, 
And  blest  Hygeia  fans  me  with  her  wings 
Laved  in  the  source  of  Life's  perennial  springs. 
But  a  few  days  will  pass,  and  I  shall  be 
Upon  my  home-return,  dear  friend,  with  thee. 
With  thee  I  '11  leave  each  hoary  Apeunine, 
Cross  the  high  Alps,  and  sail  adown  the  Rhine, 
Pass  England's  vales,  where  joy  and  plenty  smile, 
And  greet  thy  shore,  my  own  bright  emerald  isle ! 
Then,  mother,  sisters  !  your  soft  hands  shall  stray 
O'er  my  flushed  cheeks  and  cool  the  heat  away; 
And  when  the  death-dew  beads  my  stony  brow, 
Mark  with  what  truth  I  kept  my  holy  vow,  — 
My  vow  to  heaven,  to  live  untouched  fty  love, 
Save  that  of  earthly  saints  for  saints  above,  — 
The  love  our  Saviour  knew,  could  he  have  died 
Nor  in  his  anguish  on  his  mother  cried !  " 

He  ceased  and  turned  his  forehead  to  the  air 
That  came  from  flowery  banks  to  visit  there 
The  sick  man's  couch ;  the  twilight  shadows  fell 
In  deeper  lines  —  I  breathed  my  sad  farewell ; 
But  going,  turned  once  more  that  face  to  view, 
Once  more  to  see  that  cheek's  carnation  hue. 
His  eyes  were  closed,  a  smile  of  beauty  slept 
On  his  thin  lips  :  I  turned  away  and  wept ! 
When  breathless  I  arose,  he  had  not  stirred 
And  quiet  lay,  until  an  evening  bird, 
Hidden  among  the  leaves  of  some  near  tree, 
Poured  sudden  forth  a  flood  of  melody  ! 


HORACE    GUEELEY.  155 

"  I  know  that  strain  !  "  he  cried,  "  I  know  that  strain; 

Sing  me  to  sleep,  sweet  sister,  sirg  again !  " 

He  sank  to  sleep  —  to  sleep,  to  dream  that  he 

Had  crossed  the  billows  of  the  far,  wide  sea; 

That  in  his  mother's  cottage  door  he  stood 

And  gazed  on  each  familiar  stream  and  wood. 

Alas  !  't  was  all  in  dreams ;  few  evenings  passed 

Ere  the  self-exiled  stranger  sighed  his  last; 

And  that  young  heart  was  free  as  air  to  roam 

Not  to  his  earthly  but  his  heavenly  home. 

PARK  BENJAMIN. 
NORWICH,  Aug.  14,  1837. 


HORACE   GREELEY. 

To  use  the  language  of  Wordsworth  in  regard  to  another, 
the  soul  of  Horace  Greeley  ''  was  like  a  star,  and  dwelt 
apart,"  l>ut  his  star  passed  into  a  cloud,  and  the  tempo 
rary  eclipse  saddened  the  entire  nation  which  his  life  had 
honored.  I  first  became  acquainted  with  him  when  he 
was  publishing  the  JVew  Yorke r  and  before  be  had  started 
tbe  Tribune,  for  both  of  which  journals  I  wrote  some  of 
my  first  newspaper  paragraphs.  I  used  to  meet  him  at  the 
house  of  my  kinsman,  Park  Benjamin,  and  the  impres 
sions  that  I  then  received  of  his  high  character  and  rare 
benevolence,  from  personal  observation,  steadily  followed 
me  through  life  down  to  the  time  of  his  lamented  death. 
I  never  agreed  with  him  in  his  religious  views  and  all  his 
various  schemes  of  reform  and  benevolence,  nor  could  I 
always  agree  with  him  in  politics  ;  but,  as  a  man  of  mind 
and  of  the  strictest  honor,  he  commanded  my  admiration, 
and  I  loved  him  as  a  friend. 

His  first  letter  to  uie  was  written  in  1846,  and  the  last 


15G  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

in  1872  ;  and  it  was  in  the  former  year  that  he  recom 
mended  me  in  a  most  flattering  manner  for  the  librarian- 
ship  of  the  Mercantile  Library  in  New  York.  In  1863, 
after  my  friend,  Emerson  Etheridge,  had  written  a  politi 
cal  letter  which  attracted  much  attention,  Mr.  Greeley  re 
viewed  it  in  severe  terms,  and  I  was  induced  to  defend 
the  motives  of  my  friend,  if  not  his  argument.  To  that 
letter  he  sent  me  the  following  reply,  which  shows  with 
what  fearlessness  and  earnestness  he  was  always  ready 
to  battle  for  what  he  considered  right :  — 

OFFICE  OF  THE  TRIBUNE,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  2, 1863. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  received  yours  of  yesterday.  If 
Mr.  Etheridge  had  been  a  nullifier,  or  even  a  pro-slavery 
fanatic,  his  letter  to  Memphis  would  have  been  explicable, 
if  not  excusable  ;  but  I  know  him  to  have  been  nothing 
of  the  kind  in  other  days.  I  think,  quite  as  earnestly  as 
he  does,  that  the  President  has  treated  Tennessee  badly, 
but  it  was  by  exempting  her  from  the  operation  of  his 
proclamation  of  freedom.  Had  he  not  done  this,  she 
would  ere  this  have  been  a  free,  therefore  a  loyal  and 
tranquil  State,  on  the  high  road  to  peace  and  prosperity. 
But  Emerson  Etheridge  did  not  assail  him  for  what  he  had 
done  ill,  but  for  what  he  had  done  well. 

In  18(10,  I  insisted  that  Mr.  Etheridge  should  be  made 
clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  When  I  did  so  his 
name  had  not  been  suggested,  and  I  do  not  believe  he  had 
himself  thought  of  the  office.  I  knew  he  was  not  a 
Republican  ;  but  I  supposed  he  had  eyes.  His  blow  at  the 
President  and  his  policy  in  the  Memphis  letter  was  unfairly 
dealt ;  it  was  a  parricidal  stroke  in  the  back,  and  it  can 
not  be  forgiven.  It  proves  him  false-hearted  and  un 
grateful,  and  the  Breckenridge  Democrats  with  Andy 


HORACE   GREELET.  157 

Johnson  have  perceived  the  truth  that  henceforth  the 
Union  and  slavery  cannot  coexist.  It  was  too  late  for 
such  a  letter  to  have  proceeded  from  an  intelligent  convic 
tion  ;  its  spirit  was  bad  and  its  terms  insulting. 

Yours, 

HORACE  GBEELEY. 

On  two  occasions  I  took  the  liberty  of  consulting  Mr. 
Greeley  in  regard  to  my  ''Dictionary  of  Congress,"  and 
the  two  following  letters  were  the  result :  — 

NEW  YORK,  Dec.  15,  18G5. 

Friend  Lanman,  —  The  publication  of  a  "Dictionary 
of  Congress,"  extended  and  corrected  from  year  to  year, 
so  as  to  keep  it  fresh  and  authentic,  is  a  wise  and  profit 
able  enterprise,  whereby  the  author  ought  to  make  a  good 
living.  You  can  make  one  by  it,  if  you  will.  Hut  I  see 
no  more  reason  for  making  this  a  job,  than  for  doing  the 
like  with  Burke's  or  any  other  "  Peerage."  If  you  will 
first  cut  loose  from  Congress,  and  make  it  a  work  for  the 
people,  giving  the  election  returns,  with  the  rules  and 
parliamentary  companion,  I  shall  be  glad  to  commend  it, 
and  feel  sure  that  you  will  do  well  by  it.  I  do  not  see 
how  any  book  that  Congress  patronizes  can  be  good  for 
anything,  since  it  cannot  afford  to  tell  unpleasant  truths. 

Yours, 

HORACE  GREELEY. 

NEW  YORK,  May  11, 1868. 

Dear  Sir, —  I  learn  with  pleasure  that  you  are  about  to 
revise  your  4i  Dictionary  of  Congress,"  enlarge  its  scope, 
and  separate  it  altogether  from  any  connection  with  or 
hope  of  official  patronage.  I  beg  you  to  speak  without 


158  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

reserve,  and  with  entire  candor  of  every  person  who  shall 
be  deemed  worth  speaking  of  at  all.  A  work  composed 
of  solid  biographical  facts,  shorn  alike  of  praise  and 
blame,  but  unimpeachably  accurate  in  all  points,  is  needed 
and  will  be  readily  appreciated.  Yours, 

HORACE  GREELEY. 

In  a  friendly  letter  which  I  addressed  to  Mr.  Greeley, 
about  the  time  of  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency,  I 
alluded  to  the  old  times  in  New  York  —  about  one  third  of 
a  century  before  —  when  we  first  became  acquainted,  and 
in  view  of  his  position  and  popularity,  I  made  the  remark 
that  "the  people  knew  an  honest  man  when  they  saw 
him,"  and  this  was  Mr.  Greeley's  reply  :  — 


YORK,  June  27,  1872. 
Friend  Lanman,  —  Thanks  for  yours  of  the  25th  inst. 
I  have  all  my  life  been  doing  what  people  called  vastly 
foolish,  impolitic  acts,  and  I  did  not  dispute  their  judg 
ment.  I  only  said  that  what  I  did  seemed  to  me  the  right 
thing.  If  I  should  die  before  election,  or  be  beaten 
therein,  please  testify  for  me  that  I  do  not  regret  having 
braved  public  opinion,  when  I  thought  it  wrong  and  knew 
it  to  be  merciless.  Yours, 

HORACE   GREELEY. 

A  few  weeks  after  Mr.  Greeley's  nomination  for  the 
Presidency,  one  of  his  political  supporters,  who  knew  my 
friendship  for  him  personally,  but  who  also  knew  that  I 
was  nothing  of  a  politician,  asked  me  to  give  him  a  batch 
of  reasons  why  he  should  be  elected,  and  this  was  my 
reply  :  — 

"  lie  is  a  man  of  thought.  His  instincts  and  habits  are 
those  of  a  gentleman.  He  is  a  true  patriot,  and  in  his 


HORACE    GREELET.  159 

knowledge  of  statesmanship  has  no  superior  among  living 
Americans.  He  was  not  the  creature  of  accident,  but  is 
a  first-class  specimen  of  a  self-made  man.  He  has  always 
manifested  a  regard  for  religion,  but  could  never  wear  the 
garb  of  righteousness  for  selfish  purposes.  He  is  a  lover 
of  his  fellow-men,  and  has  done  quite  as  much  as  any  other 
to  elevate  the  average  standard  of  the  American  character. 
His  reputation  as  an  editor  is  well-nigh  unequalled.  He 
has  schooled  an  entire  generation  in  the  ways  of  political 
knowledge.  He  is  a  man  of  the  rarest  charity,  both  in 
his  heart  and  with  his  hand. 

"•  As  a  politician  his  motives  have  never  been  impeached. 
He  has  never  been  an  office-seeker,  but  has  habitually 
made  war  upon  demagogues.  As  a  husband  and  father, 
he  is  without  reproach.  As  a  friend,  he  has  always  been 
as  true  as  steel.  While  wielding  power  and  possessing 
his  honestly  acquired  wealth,  he  has  never  taken  upon  him 
self  the  airs  of  an  aristocrat.  Elevated  and  earnest  in 
his  aspirations,  he  has  been  a  follower  of  truth,  not  only 
for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  his 
fellow-men.  His  honor  and  sense  of  justice  have  always 
been  without  reproach.  His  labors  as  a  writer  have  given 
him  a  world-wide  reputation. 

4 '  At  the  head  of  a  great  establishment,  he  has  always  been 
considerate  of  the  feelings  of  those  in  his  employ.  He  came 
from  the  heart  of  the  people,  and  has  always  been  a  repre 
sentative  friend  of  their  interests  and  welfare.  While  ag 
gressive  in  his  character  in  the  cause  of  truth,  his  impulses 
have  been  to  forgive  the  erring.  Although  a  determined 
politician,  he  has  recognized  the  merit  or  good  intentions 
of  those  who  were  not  of  his  party.  He  has  never  sold 
his  influence  for  money.  His  boldness  and  self-reliance 
have  been  manifested  by  his  manner  of  addressing  public 


160  HAPHAZARD  PERSONALITIES. 

assemblies  on  the  issues  of  the  day.  Always  a  hard 
working  man  himself,  he  has  entertained  the  greatest 
respect  for  those  who  have  to  toil  for  a  living. 

i '  He  is  in  all  respects  a  man  of  temperance  in  his 
appetites.  His  personal  associations  are  not  with  the  low 
and  the  depraved,  but  with  the  moral  and  cultivated 
classes.  He  is  not  the  victim  of  any  debasing  indulgences. 
His  knowledge  and  wisdom  are  not  circumscribed  by  the 
profession  which  he  has  done  so  much  to  elevate.  The 
farmers  of  the  United  States  have  never  had  a  better 
friend  ;  and  there  is  no  class  of  the  industrial  population 
for  whose  prosperity  he  has  not  labored  with  zeal  and 
effect.  Whenever  he  has  held  a  public  position,  he  has 
always  acquitted  himself  with  ability  and  credit.  His  ideas 
of  private  and  public  economy  have  always  been  wise, 
rigid  without  meanness.  He  has  been,  by  his  writings, 
a  teacher  of  statesmen,  and  fully  deserves  the  honor  of 
occupying  the  position  of  President  of  the  United  States." 

In  the  way  of  coincidences  the  following  are  a  little 
curious :  It  was  Mr.  Greeley  who  virtually  nominated 
Emerson  Etheridge  for  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  ;  it  was  Mr.  Etheridge  who,  at  the 
request  of  fifty  congressmen,  appointed  me  librarian  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  ;  and  the  man  who  succeeded 
me  as  librarian  was  Whitelaw  Reid,  who  subsequently 
became  the  editor  of  'the  Tribune. 


PETER   FORCE. 

THE  American  historian  whose  library  was  for  many 
years  to  the  bookworm  the  sunniest  spot  in  Washing 
ton  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  Nov.  2G,  171)0.  When 


FETKtt   FORCE.  1C1 

a  child  he  was  removed  to  New  York  City,  where  he 
acquired  the  art  of  a  printer,  and  practised  it  until  his 
twenty-fifth  year.  "While  yet  an  apprentice,  his  love  for 
books  was  so  strong  that  all  his  weekly  earnings  were  reg 
ularly  expended  at  the  hook  auctions  of  Robert  McMenome, 
who  kept  a  shop  on  Water  Street,  near  the  Tontine  coffee 
house,  and  who,  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  was  wont  to 
knock  down  a  book  to  his  youthful  patron,  when  he  knew 
that  the  boy  had  expended  his  last  penny.  When  the 
second  edition  of  li  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New  York" 
was  printed,  young  Force  was  foreman  of  the  office  where 
the  work  was  done.  One  morning,  while  reading  a  lot  of 
proofs  before  sending  them  to  Mr.  Irving,  he  came  to  the 
list  of  old  Dutch  names,  and  by  way  of  a  joke,  he  added 
some  half-dozen  other  authentic  names,  that  the  author 
had  probably  forgotten  or  never  heard  of  ;  and  the  proofs 
were  returned  to  the  office  by  Mr.  Irving  with  these  words, 
''Very  good,  let  them  go  in";  and  they  have  all  been 
retained  in  the  subsequent  editions  of  the  work. 

In  LSI"),  Mr.  Force  removed  to  the  city  of  Washington, 
with  whose  prosperity,  and  the  history  of  the  general  gov 
ernment,  he  was  long  and  honorably  identified.  In  18-20  he 
became  the  compiler  as  well  as  printer  of  the  "Biennial 
Register,"  commenced  by  act  of  Congress  in  1810,  and 
this  work  he  continued  to  edit  and  print  until  1828  ;  for 
his  services  as  compiler  he  received  nothing,  while  the 
same  work  is  now  performed  by  a  clerk  in  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  who  receives  extra  compensation.  The 
term  "  Blue  Book,"  as  applied  to  the  "  Biennial  Register," 
was  not  recognized  until  1820,  the  new  title  having  been 
suggested  by  Mr.  Force,  since  which  period  the  work  has 
invariably  been  bound  in  blue  leather.  His  idea  was  to 
have  something  different  from  the  English  books  of  simi- 
11 


162  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

lar  character,  which  were  bound  in  red,  and  called  "  Red 
Books  "  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that,  within  the  last 
twenty  or  thirty  years,  the  English  government  has  bor 
rowed  the  American  idea,  and  now  publish  what  they  call 
a  "Blue  Book."  At  the  time  that  he  took  charge  of  the 
"Register,"  in  1820,  Mr.  Force  began  the  publication,  as 
editor,  of  a  "National  Calendar,"  which  was  issued  on 
the  first  day  of  every  year,  until  183G,  and  was  pronounced 
by  the  best  men  of  the  country  a  work  of  great  utility. 
In  1823  he  also  became  the  proprietor  of  a  daily  paper, 
called  the  National  Journal,  which  he  published  and 
edited  until  1830,  the  same  having  been  the  official  paper 
during  the  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams  ;  from 
183G  to  1840  he  was  mayor  of  Washington ;  and  for 
man}7  years  he  was  the  honored  president  of  the  National 
Institute,  located  in  the  metropolis.  He  was  also  for 
many  years  a  leading  officer  of  the  district  militia. 

In  1836,  prompted  by  a  desire  to  extend  the  knowledge 
of  American  history,  Mr.  Force  published,  in  four  vol 
umes,  a  series  of  "  Tracts  and  other  Papers"  relating  to 
the  origin,  settlement,  and  progress  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  Colonies.  The  original  material  from  which  this  work 
was  compiled  was  widely  scattered,  very  rare,  and  of  in 
tense  interest  to  all  those  who  take  pleasure  in  tracing, 
step  by  step,  the  progress  of  the  Colonies  in  population, 
wealth,  and  power,  from  the  landing  of  the  first  white  man 
to  the  establishment  of  a  free  and  independent  govern 
ment  ;  and  the  work  has  ever  been  considered  an  invalu 
able  addition  to  our  historic  lore. 

But  the  great  work  with  which  Mr.  Force  is  identified 
is  the  publication  known  as  * '  American  Archives  :  a  Doc 
umentary  History  of  the  English  Colonies  in  North  Amer 
ica,"  from  1774  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 


PETER   FORCE.  103 

idea  originated  with  him,  was  compiled  by  him,  and  pub 
lished  by  him  in  conjunction  with  Matthew  St.  Clair  Clarke, 
under  the  authority  of  Congress  and  at  the  expense  of  the 
general  government.  The  act  of  Congress  was  passed  in 
18M,  and  the  first  volume  of  the  work,  which  is  a  large 
folio,  was  printed  in  l-So?  ;  and,  up  to  the  present  time, 
nine  volumes  have  been  published,  at  a  cost  of  twenty 
thousand  dollars  per  volume,  or  one  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand  dollars  for  the  set  thus  far  completed.  In  the 
prosecution  of  his  labors  the  compiler  began  by  making  a 
personal  examination  of  the  public  archives  in  the  thirteen 
original  States  of  the  Union  ;  and,  in  carrying  out  his  great 
design,  he  spared  no  pains  nor  research  nor  money  in  ob 
taining  such  printed  and  original  documents  and  such  cor 
respondence  as  would  form  a  perfectly  consecutive  history 
of  the  vital  period  in  our  national  life.  What  the  com 
piler  claimed  for  the  work  wras  strictly  due,  and  it  unfolds 
and  develops  the  whole  foundation  of  American  principles, 
and  exhibits  to  the  world  the  most  conclusive  evidence 
that  they  were,  without  exception,  grounded  in  strict  right, 
based  upon  constitutional  law,  and  upon  the  well-settled 
doctrines  of  the  English  government ;  the  practical  truth 
deductible  from  these  premises  being  that,  if  such  be  the 
foundations,  they  must  ever  constitute  the  support  of  our 
institutions.  "When  completed,  according  to  the  plan  of 
the  compiler,  the  "Archives"  would  make  twenty  volumes, 
and  the  material  for  the  unpublished  eleven  volumes  is  all 
in  the  possession  of  his  family,  awaiting  the  further  action 
of  the  government. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of  Mr.  Force's 
library.  It  contained  about  fifty  thousand  titles,  and  was 
unquestionably  the  most  valuable  collection  of  books  bear 
ing  upon  American  history  in  existence.  It  was  arranged 


164  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

in  seven  rooms  of  an  old,  dingy  brick  building,  adjoining 
the  owner's  residence,  in  the  central  portion  of  Washing 
ton,  and  the  few  volumes  which  formed  its  nucleus  were 
purchased  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  Excepting  when 
visited  by  the  friends  of  its  proprietor,  members  of  Con 
gress  addicted  to  historical  pursuits,  or  literary  pilgrims 
from  abroad,  its  silence  was  only  broken  by  the  presence 
of  an  assortment  of  dogs  and  cats,  which  enjoyed  the  full 
range  of  the  establishment,  and  whose  characters  seemed  to 
have  been  influenced  by  the  solemn  wisdom  of  the  tomes 
among  which  they  lived.  If  you  chanced  to  see  a  mouse 
gnawing  at  a  volume  three  hundred  years  old,  and  worth 
fifty  times  its  weight  in  gold,  you  had  but  to  speak  to 
one  of  the  feline  creatures,  and  it  would  rush  to  the  rescue. 
If  you  happened  to  take  up  an  old  folio  covered  with  the 
dust  of  years,  and  make  a  little  too  much  fuss  in  trying  to 
blow  it  off,  perhaps  one  of  the  dogs  would  rub  against 
your  knee,  as  if  to  say,  "  Not  too  much  of  that,  sir.  We 
have  respect  in  this  place  for  everything  that  is  old." 
Nor  were  these  nooks  and  corners  without  guardians  which 
were  beyond  the  reach  of  the  cats  and  dogs.  In  every 
direction,  almost,  might  be  found  happy  colonies  of 
spiders,  and 

"  Over  many  a  quaint  and  curious  volume  of  forgotten  lore'' 

did  they  spread  their  network  of  protection  ;  and  they 
not  unf  requently  frightened  away,  by  their  manoeuvres,  the 
more  timid  hunters  of  knowledge  who  trespassed  on  their 
domain.  No  catalogue  of  this  vast  collection  was  ever 
attempted,  but  the  precise  location  of  each  particular  vol 
ume  was  known  to  its  fortunate  proprietor,  who  was  always 
willing  to  assist  those  who  wished  to  obtain  information,  and 
approached  him  in  a  proper  manner,  but  who  naturally  had 


PETER    FORCE.  105 

not  much  patience  with  those  who  visited  him  out  of  mere 
curiosity.  If  De  Maistre  could  make  a  delightful  book 
about  a  "Journey  Round  his  Room,"  what  a  hook  could 
have  been  made  out  of  a  journey  through  this  splendid 
library  !  In  one  obscure  corner,  for  example,  might  be 
seen  no  less  than  fifty  volumes  of  original  manuscripts, 
with  scores  upon  scores  of  intensely  interesting  letters 
from  such  men  as  Washington  and  the  other  patriots  of 
the  Revolution  ;  all  of  which  material  was  to  be  published 
for  the  first  time  in  the  future  volumes  of  the  '"Amer 
ican  Archives."  In  another  place  were  eleven  volumes 
devoted  to  the  correspondence  of  such  a  man  as  Paul 
Jones  ;  as  many  more  to  the  letters  of  John  Fitch,  of 
steamboat  memory  ;  and  hundreds  of  odd  volumes  devoted 
to  the  correspondence  of  other  men  who  have  made  their 
mark  in  the  history  of  their  country.  While  standing 
before  one  set  of  shelves,  filled  with  thin  volumes  of  every 
size  and  shape,  but  decked  out  in  substantial  bindings,  we 
might  have  taken  one  at  random,  and  find  it  to  be  "  Carvjal's 
Oration,"  containing  the  first  printed  notice  of  the  discov 
ery  of  America  by  Columbus  to  be  found  in  any  language, 
and  printed  in  141)3.  If  one  had  a  fancy  for  Arctic  litera 
ture,  one  might  have  found  there  everything  almost  that  was 
ever  published  in  regard  to  the  northern  regions  ;  and  it  is 
worthy  of  note  that  there  was  not  a  man  in  the  country 
better  posted  than  Mr.  Force  in  this  particular  department 
of  knowledge,  nor  any  one  who,  as  a  scholar,  rendered 
greater  assistance  to  the  more  recent  navigators  in  the  far 
north.  If  there  are  any  who  doubt  the  statement  that 
one  hundred  newspapers  have  been  born  and  died  in  the 
city  of  Washington,  they  could  have  been  satisfied  by  con 
sulting  the  files  collected  in  this  library  ;  and  there  they  came 
also  who  would  have  the  pleasure  of  looking  over  the  New 


166  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

York  and  Philadelphia  and  Boston  journals  published 
during  the  Revolution.  Among  the  treasures  to  be  found 
there  was  the  identical  copy  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
which  was  submitted  to  the  committee  on  the  revisal  of  its 
language.  It  was  printed  in  folio,  and  contains  all  the 
alterations  in  manuscript  which  were  made  by  the  very 
able  and  distinguished  chairman  of  that  committee,  Wil 
liam  S.  Johnson,  of  Connecticut.  Another  treasure,  not 
yet  alluded  to,  was  a  manuscript  volume  from  the  pen  of 
Washington,  containing  his  plan  for  Sullivan's  expedition, 
together  with  numerous  queries  that  he  sent  to  his  corre 
spondents,  and  their  replies,  whereby  he  fully  posted  him 
self  in  regard  to  the  Indian  country.  And  directly  by  the 
side  of  this  volume  was  another  from  the  same  pen,  consist 
ing  of  a  private  diary,  not  a  syllable  of  which  has  ever 
yet  appeared  in  print.  Among  the  foreigners  who  trav 
elled  through  this  country  for  their  amusement  during  the 
Revolution  was  one  Count  Memin,  from  France.  He  was 
a  good  engraver,  and  employed  himself  by  taking  profile 
portraits  of  all  such  persons  as  were  willing  to  remunerate 
him  for  his  trouble.  The  only  complete  collection  of  these 
portraits  ever  made  was  made  by  the  artist  himself,  and 
this  was  one  of  the  attractions  of  Mr.  Force's  library.  They 
numbered  no  less  than  three  hundred  and  fifty,  are  admira 
bly  executed,  and  among  them  are  many  of  the  fathers  of 
the  Republic.  The  black-letter  volumes  in  this  library  num 
bered  several  hundred  ;  but  those  here  alluded  to  refer  to 
African  slavery  in  America.  Everything  calculated  to 
throw  light  on  the  subject  was  here  collected.  A  most 
important  feature  of  this  library  also  was  its  pamphlet* 
relating  to  America.  The  titles  may  be  counted  by  the 
thousand,  and  there  were  gathered  together  extensive  col 
lections  made  by  such  men  as  William  Hazzard,  William 


PETER  FORCE.  1G7 

Duanc,  Jonathan  Smith,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Israel  Thorn- 
dike,  John  Bailey,  I.  B.  Moore,  James  Madison,  as  well 
as  Mr.  Force  himself,  and  among  these  volumes  were  to 
be  found  many  highly  interesting  autographs. 

Another,  and  the  last  representative  item  to  be  men 
tioned  in  this  connection,  is  a  set  of  ten  volumes  of  hand 
bills,  printed  in  the  leading  cities  during  the  Revolution. 
In  those  clays  newspapers  were  published  not  more  fre 
quently  than  once  a  week,  and  these  printed  bills  iill  up 
the  gaps  in  the  history  of  the  time,  and  are,  of  course, 
very  valuable.  In  looking  over  these  old  papers,  one  facfr 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  which  is  of  special 
interest  to  the  New-Yorkers  of  the  present  day.  When 
the  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  arrived  in  New 
York,  in  their  great  joy  the  people  dismantled  a  ship  and 
planted  her  largest  mast  on  a  conspicuous  plot  of  ground, 
and  at  the  top  of  this  mast  they  affixed  a  wooden  bust  of 
the  king  and  of  Pitt,  and  between  the  two  a  liberty  cap.  It 
was  not  long  before  the  effigies  of  the  two  Englishmen  were 
taken  down,  while  the  emblem  of  the  goddess  was  left 
alone  in  its  glory.  And  this  was  the  origin  of  that  truly 
American  institution  — the  liberty  pole. 

With  the  remark  that  the  works  of  art  to  be  found  in 
Mr.  Force's  library  were  quite  as  valuable  and  unique  in 
their  way  as  the  books  themselves,  we  shall  conclude  our 
brief  account  with  an  allusion  to  one  other  very  decided 
novelty  associated  therewith.  The  back  windows  of  the 
library  building  all  opened  upon  rather  an  extensive  yard, 
which  the  proprietor  called  his  wilderness.  This  spot  of 
ground  was  not  for  many  years  touched  by  the  hand  of 
improvement,  and  was  as  perfect  a  specimen  of  vegetation 
run  wild  as  could  anywhere  be  found.  Its  area  was  insig 
nificant,  but  a  walk  in  its  tangled  paths  could  not  fail  to 


168  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

recall  all  those  fresh  emotions  which  we  are  wont  to  expe 
rience  in  the  lonely  woods.  Though  the  roar  of  business 
tumbled  in  upon  it  from  every  quarter,  it  wras  just  such  a 
place  as  would  delight  an  imaginative  writer  like  Alphonse 
Karr,  and  enable  him  to  write  a  new  book  quite  as  charm 
ing  as  his  famous  "Tour  Round  my  Garden."  AVith 
almost  a  religious  zeal  Mr.  Force  protected  his  "wilder 
ness"  from  sacrilegious  hands  ;  and,  after  an  hour's  ram 
ble  among  the  treasures  of  the  library,  enlivened  with  the 
many  agreeable  reminiscences  of  his  experiences  in  this 
intellectual  world  of  his  own  creation,  a  walk  with  him  in 
the  u  wilderness  "  was  a  pleasure  not  soon  to  be  forgotten. 
In  18(57  the  collection  of  books  and  manuscripts  belong 
ing  to  Mr.  Force  was  purchased  by  the  government  for 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  added  to  the  library  of 
Congress  ;  and  for  several  months  after  their  removal,  as 
if  loath  to  part  with  his  old  familiar  volumes,  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  making  a  daily  visit  to  the  Capitol,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  offering  suggestions  as  to  their  arrangement  in 
their  new  home.  He  died  in  AVashiugton,  Jan.  23,  1868, 
universally  lamented  as  a  sterling  patriot,  a  learned  scholar, 
and  one  of  the  best  and  purest  of  men. 


WILLIAM   S.  MOUNT. 

I  WOULD  submit  to  the  public  a  few  words  of  affection 
in  honor  of  this  gifted  and  distinguished  painter.  He 
was  my  friend  and  correspondent  for  more  than  twenty- 
five  years,  and  I  feel  that  I  have  a  right  to  join  his  ad 
mirers  in  their  regretful  recollections.  He  was  the  last  of 
a  trio  of  brothers,  all  of  whom  were  painters  and  men  of 
ability,  all  identified  with  the  city  of  New  York,  and 


AVILLIAM    S.    MOUNT.  109 

honored  students  and  officers  of  the  National  Academy  of 
Design.  The  first,  Henry  S.,  died  in  January,  1841  ;  the 
second,  Shepard  A.,  in  September,  1807;  and  the  third, 
William  S.,  at  Setanket,  Long  Island,  on  the  10 th  of 
the  present  month,  November,  1808.  They  were  the 
sons  of  a  substantial  yeoman,  who  died  in  the  prime 
of  life,  and  the  incidents  of  their  lives  were  very  much 
alike.  —  in  their  experiences  as  youthful  farmers,  their 
early  struggles  with  fortune,  their  high  character  as  men 
and  citizens,  and  in  their  success  as  artists  in  the  city  of 
New  York. 

William  S.  Mount  was  born  in  Setauket,  Long  Island, 
Nov.  20,  1807,  and  his  education  was  chiefly  obtained 
from  common  schools.  While  yet  a  mere  boy,  he  dabbled 
with  the  colors  of  a  sign-painter  in  New  York  for  his 
amusement ;  but  having  stumbled  into  the  gallery  of  the 
old  American  Academy,  he  was  fascinated  by  the  pictures 
of  Benjamin  West  and  John  Trumbull,  and  fired  with  the 
impulse  to  become  a  painter.  His  first  picture  was  a 
portrait  of  himself,  painted  in  his  twenty-first  year  ;  and  his 
first  composition,  painted  in  the  year  following,  repre 
sented  the  kt  Daughter  of  Jairus  "  ;  and  by  the  time  lie 
had  attained  his  twenty-fourth  year  he  had  produced  a 
sufficient  number  of  portraits  and  composition  pictures  to 
call  forth  from  Washington  Allston  the  commendation  that 
he  exhibited  great  power  of  expression,  had  a  firm,  de 
cided  pencil,  and  that  if  he  would  apply  himself  to  the 
studv  of  such  men  as  Ostade  and  Jan  Steen,  notliiii"1 

••  t5 

would  prevent  him  from  becoming  a  great  artist.  After 
profiting  by  models  from  the  antique,  and  the  few  good 
pictures  to  which  he  had  access,  as  well  as  by  the  friendly 
advice  of  John  Trumbull,  he  began  to  look  to  Nature  alone 
for  his  inspiration  ;  and  from  that  time  until  the  day  of  his 


170  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

death  she  was  his  only  guide  and  teacher.  He  was  un 
questionably  one  of  the  most  original  artists  of  his  day, 
and  exerted  a  happy  influence  on  the  public  taste.  He 
was  the  pioneer,  and  continued  the  unequalled  master  in 
his  special  department ;  and  he  accomplished,  to  some 
extent,  for  American  country  life  what  David  Wilkie  did 
for  the  country  life  of  Great  Britain,  or  David  Teniersfor 
his  fatherland.  In  a  few  instances,  the  mere  execution 
of  his  pictures  was  quite  equal  to  that  of  the  famous 
Scotchman ;  but  he  contented  himself  with  a  single 
humorous  thought,  instead  of  touching  the  heart  with  the 
elevating  sentiments  born  of  rustic  life.  Unlike  the 
Flemish  painter,  he  was  never  vulgar,  and  we  can  only 
regret  that  he  did  not  pay  more  respect  to  the  higher  and 
better  feelings  of  our  nature.  By  many,  his  coloring  was 
considered  cold,  but  he  counted  upon  the  warming  and 
softening  influences  of  time  ;  in  accurate  drawing,  how 
ever,  and  the  delineation  of  character,  he  was  emphati 
cally  a  man  of  rare  powers.  He  wos  an  enthusiastic 
American  in  his  feelings,  and  a  lover  of  fun  and  humor, 
and  these  qualities  were  almost  invariably  visible  in  his 
productions.  He  never  visited  Europe,  and  while  touch 
ing  on  this  subject  in  one  of  his  letters  to  me,  written  at  a 
time  when  he  was  without  a  rival,  he  said  :  "  I  have  always 
had  a  desire  to  do  something  before  I  went  abroad.  Origi 
nality  is  not  confined  to  one  place  or  country,  which  is 
very  consoling  to  us  Yankees.  The  late  Luman  Reed,  of 
New  York,  desired  me  to  visit  Europe  at  his  expense  ; 
Jonathan  Sturges,  Esq.,  has  also  made  me  an  offer  of 
friendship  if  I  desired  to  visit  Europe  ;  and  the  firm  of 
Goupil,  Yibert  &  Co.  have  offered  to  supply  me  with 
ample  funds  if  I  would  spend  one  year  in  Paris  and  paint 
them  four  pictures.  I  have  a  plenty  of  orders,  and  I 


WILLIAM    S.    MOUNT.  171 

am  contented  to  remain  awhile  longer  in  our  own  great 
country." 

With  regard  to  the  number  of  his  productions  I  cannot 
speak  positively,  but  in  1850,  as  he  told  me  himself,  they 
numbered  fifty  compositions,  with  an  equal  number  of 
portraits,  at  least.  He  was  frequently  paid  a  much  larger 
sum  for  his  pictures  than  he  had  asked  ;  and  I  had  it  from 
his  own  lips  that  he  had  spent  days  and  weeks,  and  even 
months,  without  painting,  and  that  in  his  opinion  there 
was  a  time  to  think  and  a  time  to  labor.  In  a  brief  paper 
like  the  present  I  cannot  pretend  to  describe  the  pictures 
which  have  given  him  an  enviable  fame,  but  the  following 
list  will  convey  to  the  uninitiated  an  idea  of  his  style  and 
what  he  accomplished,  namely,  "Husking  Corn,"  "Cider- 
making,"  "Raffling  for  a  Goose,"  "The  Tough  Yarn," 
"Fortune-telling,"  "Bargaining  for  a  Horse,"  "Game 
sters  Surprised  in  a  Barn,"  "Winding  Up,"  "Kinging 
Hogs,"  "Artist's  Studio,"  "The  Last  Clam,"  "Hoeing 
Corn,"  "Rustic  Dance,"  "  Rabbit  Catching,"  "  Farmers 
Nooning,"  "Turning  the  Grindstone,"  "The  Power  of 
Music,"  "  Dance  of  Haymakers,"  "Turning  the  Leaf," 
"Farmer  Sharpening  his  Scythe,"  "The  Well  by  the 
Wayside,"  "Just  in  Tune,"  and  "The  Berry-Hunter." 
Of  these  pictures,  more  than  one  half  of  them  have  been 
engraved  ;  and  among  the  men  who  have  honored  them 
selves  by  giving  the  artist  orders  were  Lumaii  Reed,  Jon 
athan  Sturges,  James  Lenox,  Edward  C.  Carey,  Marshall 
O.  Roberts,  Gideon  Lee,  Charles  M.  Leupp,  A.  M.  Coz- 
zens,  and  the  art  publishers  of  Paris,  Goupil,  Vibert  &  Co. 
Of  William  Mount's  portraits  I  can  only  say  that  many 
of  them  were  of  a  high  order  of  merit,  and  of  distin 
guished  persons  ;  but  he  had  no  love  for  this  branch  of 
the  art,  and  he  seldom  painted  portraits  excepting  for  his 


172  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

friends,  or  to  oblige  those  for  whom  he  had  a  special 
regard.  In  this  connection  I  have  two  or  three  anecdotes. 
His  first  commission  in  this  department  came  from  a  Long 
Island  shoemaker,  who  gave  him  a  pair  of  brogans  for  a 
likeness  of  himself,  size  of  life  and  painted  in  oil.  On 
one  occasion  he  painted  the  portrait  of  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  moneyed  aristocracy,  and  during  its  execution 
he  was  the  invited  guest  of  the  would-be  nobleman.  The 
picture  was  a  decided  hit,  and  universally  admired.  When 
Mount  was  about  to  leave,  the  patron  called  him  into  his 
office  and  remarked,  in  a  quiet  way,  that  he  thought  at 
least  fifty  dollars  ought  to  be  deducted  from  the  original 
stipulated  price,  as  he  (the  artist)  had  been  treated  with 
elegant  hospitality.  To  this  insult  Mount  replied,  u  I 
thank  you,  sir,  for  your  hospitality,  but,  as  I  have  but 
one  price  for  my  portraits,  if  you  cannot  afford  to  pay  me 
what  was  agreed  upon,  I  will  make  you  a  present  of  the 
picture."  This  reprimand  cut  the  upstart  patron  to  the 
quick,  and  he  at  once  drew  a  check  for  the  full  amount. 
To  give  an  idea  of  the  facility  with  which  Mount  some 
times  painted,  I  mav  mention  the  fact  that  in  mv  own  col 
lection  of  pictures  is  an  admirable  portrait  of  a  lady  which 
he  painted  in  two  hours,  and  with  a  palette  that  he  had 
never  seen  until  the  moment  when  he  commenced  his  task. 
For  many  years  it  was  whispered  among  those  who  knew 
him  not  that  William  Mount  was  something  of  an  idler, 
and  did  not  make  the  best  use  of  his  talents.  The  charge 
was  most  unjust.  His  whole  life  was  a  continuous  battle 
against  the  encroachments  of  delicate  health  ;  and  while 
standing  guard,  for  months  at  a  time,  over  a  body  all  alive 
with  quivering  nerves  and  harassed  with  the  pains  of  indi 
gestion,  it  was  quite  impossible  for  him  to  execute  the  pic 
tures  he  was  always  designing.  If  we  are  to  judge  the 


WILLIAM    8.    MOUNT.  173 

productions  of  the  poet  and  painter  by  the  yardstick,  he 
may  have  been  delinquent ;  but  if  we  depend  upon  ideas 
and  the  beauty  of  their  expression,  then  must  we  give 
Mount  the  credit  of  having  accomplished  his  full  share  of 
honors.  His  time  for  work  was  limited,  and  so,  also,  were 
his  means,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  his  devoting  a  por 
tion  of  his  strength  to  the  drudgery  of  portrait  painting. 
Some  of  his  efforts  in  this  line  were  of  a  very  high  order, 
especially  those  of  Bishops  Onderdonk  and  Seabury,  but 
there  was  something  almost  comical  in  the  demands  made 
upon  him  by  persons  bereaved  of  their  friends,  to  depict 
the  dead  in  the  fresh  colors  of  life.  Such  appeals  were 
commonly  respected,  and  it  verily  seemed  at  times  that  he 
delighted  in  thus  attempting  the  apparently  impossible. 
This  class  of  portraits  did  not  add  to  his  fame,  perhaps, 
but  they  were  always  successful,  and  greatly  extended  his 
circle  of  devoted  friends.  If  it  be  true  that  he  did  not 
paint  as  many  composition  pictures  as  he  might,  it  is  also 
true,  and  the  fact  is  a  telling  tribute  to  his  genius,  that  he 
has  been  more  popular  with  the  engravers  than  any  other 
American  of  the  same  exalted  rank  in  art.  Among  the 
publishers  of  our  earlier  gift  books  his  name  was  consid 
ered  a  trump  card,  and  the  very  best  engravers  on  steel 
were  employed  to  reproduce  his  conceptions  of  rural 
character.  As  time  progressed  his  pictures  were  sought 
out  and  reproduced  on  steel  in  the  best  possible  manner, 
and  in  larger  styles  for  circulation  among  print  collectors 
and  for  the  adornment  of  our  drawing-rooms  ;  and  when 
he  produced  his  original  and  unsurpassed  delineations  of 
negro  character,  the  noted  Paris  house  of  Goupil  &  Co. 
reproduced  a  number  of  them  in  lithograph,  and  circu 
lated  them  very  extensively  in  Europe  and  this  country. 
Judging  his  pictures,  therefore,  by  their  popularity  and 


174  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

quality,  rather  than  by  their  numbers,  it  would  appear  that 
the  lamented  Mount  was  not  only  a  faithful  worker  but 
eminently  successful. 

.While  Mount  was  never  married,  he  was  a  lover  of  home 
and  domestic  life,  and  he  found  much  of  his  happiness  in 
loving  intercourse  with  his  mother  and  sisters.  During 
his  whole  life,  the  paternal  mansion  at  Stony  Brook, 
Long  Island,  was  his  dwelling-place.  It  was  his  affection 
for  this  quiet  retreat  that  probably  influenced  him  more 
than  anything  else  to  quit  New  York,  where  he  once  at 
tempted  to  settle  ;  but  while  the  country  was  his  home,  he 
found  pleasure  in  frequently  visiting  the  great  city,  where 
he  had  many  devoted  friends,  and  where  he  came  in  direct 
contact  with  the  world  of  art.  He  was  a  creature  of  im 
pulse,  and  loved  to  wander  about  into  out-of-the-way 
places,  studying  character  and  amusing  himself  with  the 
novelties  of  the  town.  In  these  prowlings  he  always  had  a 
companion  with  whom  he  could  talk  freely,  and  on  many 
days  and  nights  it  was  my  rare  privilege  to  be  that  com 
panion.  On  one  occasion  that  I  remember,  after  spend 
ing  the  day  at  some  of  the  private  picture  galleries,  where 
he  was  always  freely  admitted,  we  had  a  quiet  dinner  at 
Dehnonico's,  where  he  sketched  a  funny  waiter ;  at  seven 
o'clock  we  attended  a  wedding  at  St.  Thomas's  Church, 
where  he  took  an  outline  of  the  bride's  sweet  face  ;  from 
ei<rht  to  ten  we  lounged  in  the  exhibition-room  of  the 
National  Academy  of  Design ;  from  ten  to  twelve  we  en 
joyed  the  music  and  the  dancing  at  a  large  and  fashion 
able  party  ;  and  wound  up  the  round  of  entertainment  by 
visiting  a  terrible  place,  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
City  Hall,  where  we  passed  ourselves  off  as  u  roughs," 
for  the  purpose  of  witnessing  in  safety  the  spectacle  of  a 
bear  baiting,  and  where  poor  humanity  could  be  studied 


WILLIAM    S.    MOUNT.  175 

in  many  of  its  most  melancholy  phases.  Mount's  visits 
to  the  city,  excepting  when  professionally  engaged,  sel 
dom  lasted  more  than  two  or  three  days,  for  he  very  well 
knew  that  they  were  not  calculated  to  improve  his  health ; 
and  the  same  rusty  old  sloop  which,  in  the  days  of  our 
frolic-king,  brought  him  to  town  from  Stony  Brook,  was 
the  one  to  take  him  back  again.  There  were  many  places 
in  the  city  where  a  bed  and  a  seat  at  table  were  always 
at  his  service,  but  he  liked  to  be  free  and  independent, 
and  usually  occupied  lodgings  at  the  Trmmany  Hall  Hotel, 
in  the  olden  times.  Accident  originally  took  him  there, 
but  as  it  was  the  grand  headquarters  of  the  Democracy, 
and  he  was  a  strong  Democrat  in  politics,  he  continued  a 
patron  of  that  hotel  to  the  last.  Although  an  uncom 
monly  practical  man  in  his  habits  of  thought  and  acting, 
he  never  tired  of  talking  about  art  and  artists,  about 
music  and  musicians,  and  about  the  characteristics  of  in 
dividual  men  and  the  beauties  of  inanimate  nature.  He 
looked  upon  all  his  fellow-artists  with  established  reputa 
tions  as  his  superiors,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  fostering 
the  talents  of  the  young.  In  looking  at  a  picture  he 
always  pointed  out  and  talked  about  its  beauties,  leaving 
the  defects  to  themselves.  His  abilities  as  a  player  on  the 
violin  were  remarkable  ;  he  composed  much  fine  music,  and 
a  piece  entitled  "The  Babes  in  the  Wood,"  which  he  was 
wont  to  execute  on  his  violin  in  some  strange  way  with  an 
ordinary  door  key,  seldom  failed  a  bring  a  tear  into  the 
eyes  of  his  listeners.  Though  not  a  religious  man  by  pro 
fession,  he  had  a  high  sense  of  honor,  and  venerated  the 
Bible  and  respected  its  expounders,  and  possessed  a  charity 
and  love  for  his  fellow-men  allied  to  that  which  his  warm 
friend  Bryant  has  so  eloquently  attributed  to  Schiller. 
He  was  a  true  man,  a  full-blooded  American,  aild  an 


176  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

artist  whose  name  must  always  be  mentioned  with  honor 
in  the  annals  of  American  painting. 

Without  taking  time  just  now  to  recall  and  record  the 
many  traits  of  William  Mount's  beautiful  character  as  a 
man,  his  habits  as  an  artist,  and  especially  his  novel  ad 
ventures,  modes  of  studying  nature,  and  rare  powers  as 
a  player  on  the  violin,  I  have  thought  that  the  following 
disconnected  extracts  from  his  many  letters  to  me  might 
be  read  with  pleasure.  I  give  them  merely  as  a  taste  of 
his  quality. 

Artistic  Hints.  —  "I  never  paint  on  a  picture  unless  I 
feel  in  the  right  spirit.  When  I  go  into  a  painter's  studio, 
I  never  turn  his  canvases  round  without  a  permit  from  the 
artist.  I  always  pay  my  debts,  and  now  and  then  play  a 
tune  upon  the  violin.  I  am  not  fond,  like  some  artists, 
of  talking  about  my  difficulties.  I  try  to  be  happy  and 
wish  to  see  others  so ;  and  I  think  more  of  health  than 
fame.  Work  upon  your  pictures  up  to  the  last  hour  be 
fore  sending  them  to  the  academy.  If  you  see  anything 
that  wants  correcting,  dash  it  out  and  paint  anew.  Again, 
keep  down  every  part  of  your  picture  except  that  part 
which  you  wish  to  interest.  Your  eye  will  govern  you. 
When  your  picture  is  finished  and  you  wish  to  take  off  the 
effect  of  the  paint  and  at  the  same  time  give  a  sunny 
warmth,  go  over  the  whole  with  raw  sienna,  mixed  with 
drying  oil.  Use  a  rag  in  putting  it  on.  You  can  use  blue, 
red,  and  yellow  or  any  other  compound  in  the  same  way. 
In  glazing,  if  yon  wish  to  cool  your  warm  shadows,  use 
blue  or  any  cool,  transparent  color.  I  sometimes  pick  up 
very  fine  ochres  along  the  country  roads,  and  the  grape 
vine,  when  burnt  to  a  coal,  makes  the  best  black  I  know." 

Painting  the  Dead.  —  "I  have  just  finished  the  portrait 
of  a  young  lady,  from  a  sketch  taken  after  death.  I  put 


WILLIAM   S.    MOUNT.  177 

a  bunch  of  flowers  in  her  hand,  and  the  friends  were  per 
fectly  satisfied.  The  mother  was  so  struck  with  the  like 
ness  that  she  turned  aside  and  wept.  She  has  so  much 
confidence  in  my  drawing,  that  she  wants  me  to  raise 
up  her  husband.  I  have  other  invitations  to  bring  to  light 
the  departed.  If  artists  were  called  upon  in  time,  it  would 
save  many  bitter  reflections.  I  am  pleased  to  know  there 
is  one  thing  that  can  soften  the  heart  of  a  miser,  and  that 
is  death.  He  makes  poets  and  painters  respected." 

A  Few  Personal  Opinions.  —  "  Elliot  has  a  soul ;  there 
is  nothing  small  about  him.  I  admire  his  strength  and 
color. 

44  With  regard  to  Edmonds,  his  artistic  talents  fairly 
light  up  A\rall  Street. 

"  Vanderlyn  is  an  artist  of  great  talents  and  close  ob 
servation,  and  the  New  York  councils  ought  to  pay  him 
one  thousand  dollars,  instead  of  half  that  sum,  for  his 
portrait  of  General  Taylor.  AVhat  a  poor  compliment 
to  the  author  of  '  Cains  Marius  ' ! 

"  I  agree  with  you  that  Huntington  is  a  man  of  great 
abilities.  In  landscape  he  is  often  truly  delightful.  If 
he  were  to  apply  himself  to  that  branch  he  might  excel 
even  Cole  and  Durand,  great  as  they  are. 

"  Cole  hardly  ever  fails  to  win  my  admiration. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  Durand's  ill  health.  His  land 
scapes  afford  me  great  pleasure.  I  wish  him  health  and 
prosperity. 

"  Grey  is  a  queer  fellow,  but  has  bottom. 

"  Ranney  is  a  glorious  fellow. 

"  Allstoii  was  great,  but  wanted  pluck.  He  ought 
never  to  have  been  frightened  from  Belshazzar's  Hall  by 
Martin. 

"  Bonfield  paints  a  capital  sea  view. 
12 


178  HAPHAZARD  PERSON ALITIES. 

"  Morse  ought  never  to  have  given  up  painting. 

"  Kensett's  sketches  from  nature  are  exquisite. 

"  Casilear's  pictures  make  me  love  the  man. 

"  Page,  in  his  portraits,  is  sometimes  magnificent,  but 
that  twilight  landscape  of  his  was  a  disgrace. 

"  Weir  is  a  big  Indian  in  art. 

11  Gignoux's  winter  scenes  cannot  be  beaten. 

"  Church  is  tremendous,  and  deserves  his  wonderful 
success. 

"  Leutze  is  a  perfect  war  horse  of  a  painter." 

His  Mother.  —  "You  did  right  in  breaking  that  engage 
ment  to  go  and  see  a  sick  mother.  Never  forget  your 
parents,  and  there  will  be  nothing  to  darken  your  mind  in 
after  years.  I  never  shall  forget  the  warm  pressure  of 
my  mother's  hand  when  she  was  dying.  It  was  the  last 
pressure  of  approbation." 

Concerning  a  Critic.  —  "I  have  come  off  quite  as  well  as 
I  expected  from  under  the  quill  of  the  '  Broadway'  critic. 
It  is  singular  that  he  will  not  admit  that  I  can  paint  a 
portrait.  It  may  be  that  the  truth  of  one  of  my  heads 
may  have  brought  to  his  mind  recollections  of  mercantile 
memory.  He  seems  to  fancy  that  no  man  must  attempt 
to  paint  a  map  but  neighbor  Page,  nor  a  landscape,  be 
cause  neighbor  Page  was  never  gifted  in  that  line.  The 
fact  is,  he  is  the  mere  echo  of  his  favorite,  but  I  thank 
him  for  his  good  intentions." 

City  and  Country  Life.  —  "I  often  ask  myself  this 
question,  Am  I  to  stay  in  old  Suffolk  County  as  long  as 
the  children  of  Israel  did  in  the  wilderness  ?  I  hope  not 
without  visiting  the  city  occasionally,  —  a  little  oftener 
than  I  have  done  for  the  last  twelve  months.  The  loneli 
ness  and  stillness  here  are  getting  to  be  painful  to  me. 
The  reason  is,  I  stay  at  home  too  much.  I  must  visit  the 


WILLIAM   S.    MOUNT.  179 

ladies  more  frequently,  —  go  to  apple-peelings  and  quilt- 
ings.  After  all,  the  city  is  the  place  for  an  artist  to  live 
in.  Reynolds  Considered  that  the  three  years  he  spent  in 
the  country  were  so  much  time  lost." 

About  a  Violin.  —  k*  I  have  lately  made  a  violin,  having 
concavity  on  the  back  as  well  as  the  sides.  The  tone  is 
powerful  and  soft,  and  it  has  the  mellowness  of  the  ordi 
nary  violin  fifty  years  old.  It  is  an  American  fiddle  for 
Brother  Jonathan  to  play  upon.  I  have  sent  it  to  Wash 
ington  .  and  wish  you  would  step  into  the  Patent  Office  and 
see  if  it  has  arrived  ;  then  do  what  you  can  to  secure  the 
patent." 

A  Webster  Portrait.  —  i4  A  friend  of  ours  wants  me  to 
paint  a  full-length  portrait  of  your  late  and  noble  friend, 
Mr.  Webster,  in  the  attitude  of  speaking.  I  now  regret 
that  I  did  not  accept  the  invitation  to  Marshfield,  last 
summer.  I  never  saw  him  but  twice,  —  at  the  Cooper  Fes 
tival,  and  at  the  City  Hall  in  New  York  ;  but  I  remember 
him  distinctly.  Tell  me  if  he  exposed  his  upper  or  lower 
teeth,  or  both,  wnile  talking  or  speaking ;  also  whether 
they  were  large  or  small.  You  know  that  when  a  man 
speaks,  he  moves  his  under  jaw,  the  upper  remaining  quite 
linn.  The  same  when  he  laughs.  Let  me  know  his  height, 
the  color  of  his  skin,  eyes,  hair,  dress,  style  of  shoes  or 
boots,  his  manner  of  standing  while  making  a  speech,  and 
whether  he  used  his  hands  and  arms  extensively.  When 
I  saw  him  in  the  court-room  of  the  City  Hall  he  appeared 
uneasy,  and  was  walking  back  and  forth  like  a  mad  bull. 
Speaking  of  Webster  reminds  me  of  Washington.  I  low 
comes  on  his  monument?  T  do  not  fancy  the  design.  It 
looks  like  a  hundred-legged  bug  running  away  with  a  pil 
lar,  or  a  bunch  of  candles  hanging  down,  or  a  whitewash 
brush  standing  ready  for  some  giant  to  take  up  by  the 
handle  and  sweep  the  streets  of  the  metropolis." 


180  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

During  several  of  the  later  years  of  his  life  William 
Mount  was  a  visionary,  and  some  of  his  conceits  bor 
dered  closely  upon  spiritualism.  But  this  blight  upon  his 
intellect  was  the  result,  undoubtedly,  of  his  long-contin 
ued  bad  health.  He  is  now  a  disembodied  spirit,  and  it 
will  not  become  any  of  us,  who  are  still  grovelling  here 
below,  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  his  weaknesses  and  motives. 


JAMES   BROOKS. 

HE  was  my  friend,  and  I  sincerely  mourn  his  untimely 
departure  from  among  the  living.  I  first  became  ac 
quainted  with  him  in  1847,  when  he  gave  me  a  posi 
tion  in  his  editorial  office,  as  an  assistant  writer  for  the 
Express.  One  of  my  duties,  under  his  direction,  was  to 
look  after  the  interests  of  the  poor  of  the  city  ;  and  M 
series  of  descriptions  that  I  printed  about  life  in  the  old 
Bowery  and  its  vicinity  caused  many  donations  to  be 
sent  to  Mr.  Brooks  for  distribution  among  the  inmates  of 
that  house  of  woe,  and  subsequently  resulted  in  an  entire 
reformation  of  its  character.  Another  line  of  observation 
that  I  prosecuted  was  among  the  medical  fraternity  ;  and 
as  it  was  my  privilege  to  know  all  the  doctors  and  sur 
geons  (for  whom  I  have  always  had  a  fancy),  and  to 
chronicle  their  exploits,  I  succeeded  in  making  the  Ex 
press  their  pet  newspaper.  But  the  particular  department, 
which  I  worked  up  with  a  special  gusto,  was  that  of  the 
fine  arts.  I  chronicled  all  the  doings  of  the  artists  ;  and 
it  was  in  the  Express  and  at  that  time  that  the  custom 
was  commenced,  in  this  country,  of  criticising  and  minutely 
describing  the  pictures  of  the  artists,  prior  to  their  public 
exhibition.  The  credit  of  doing  this,  whether  deserved  or 


JAMES    BROOKS.  181 

not,  was  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Brooks,  in  his  journal  and 
in  private  letters. 

Early  in  the  year  1848,  Mr.  Brooks  called  me  to  his 
writing-table,  and  asked  me  if  I  had  ever  visited  Wash 
ington.  I  replied  that  I  had  not.  "  Would  you  like  to 
go?  "  he  continued.  I  answered,  kt  Yes."  ''When  ?  "  "At 
once,"  I  said.  Whereupon  he  added,  "  You  may  go  to 
night,  if  you  please.  Public  affairs  are  taking  an  interest 
ing  turn  down  there,  and  you  must  send  us  some  good 
letters ;  but  one  thing  I  wish  you  to  remember,  don't 
believe  anything  that  you  hear,  and  not  more  than  one  half 
that  you  see."  I  obeyed  orders,  wrote  a  series  of  u  Waifs 
from  Washington,"  which  I  concluded  with  a  letter  of 
resignation,  and  then  joined  the  National  Intelligencer, 
and  became  permanently  settled  in  the  District  of  Colum 
bia.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Brooks  was  the 
unconscious  instrument  in  shaping  my  destiny  at  the  most 
important  period  of  my  humble  life.  Is  it  not  therefore 
natural  that,  during  all  the  following  years,  I  should  have 
cherished  a  warm  regard  for  my  distinguished  friend? 

My  personal  intercourse  with  Mr.  Brooks,  taken  in  con 
nection  with  his  public  career,  has  given  me  an  exalted 
opinion  of  his  character.  He  was  a  man  of  culture,  and 
in  all  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men,  whether  of  high 
or  low  degree,  deported  himself  like  a  true  gentleman  ;  as 
a  politician,  he  cherished  an  earnest  desire  to  promote  the 
broadest  liberty  for  all  men  ;  as  a  journalist,  his  career 
was  long,  brilliant,  and  successful ;  and  as  a  member  of 
Congress,  he  served  his  constituents  with  fidelity,  took  an 
active  part  in  general  legislation,  and  was  the  leader  or 
representative  man  of  his  party.  He  also  used  the  pen 
with  remarkable  facility  and  power,  and  was  an  eloquent 
speaker.  He  was  in  his  tastes  very  much  of  a  cosmopolite, 


182  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  his  experiences  as  a  traveller  were  somewhat  remark 
able.  After  seeing  nearly  everything  in  his  own  country 
that  was  worth  seeing,  he  travelled  through  Europe  with  a 
knapsack,  and  at  a  subsequent  period  he  visited  Kgypt 
and  the  Holy  Land,  and  less  than  ten  years  before  his 
death  made  the  circuit  of  the  globe  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health  ;  and  his  descriptive  writings,  if  brought  together 
and  republished  as  a  whole,  would  probably  prove  that  he 
was  not  surpassed  by  any  other  writer  in  that  particular 
department  of  literature.  Upon  his  whole  career  as  a 
public  man  there  rested  but  one  single  shadow,  and  that, 
in  my  own  opinion,  was  nothing  but  the  natural  result  of 
associating  with  the  demagogues  of  this  notoriously  cor 
rupt  age  ;  and  it  must  ever  be  a  source  of  regret,  that  the 
one  assault  that  was  made  upon  his  integrity  was  made 
when  he  was  in  reality  a  dying  man  ;  but  though  his  chief 
desire  for  prolonged  life  —  so  that  he  might  answer  his 
accusers  —  was  not  granted,  peace  and  hope  were  at  his 
bedside  at  the  final  hour. 

In  looking  over  the  letters  which  I  have  received  from 
Mr.  Brooks,  I  find  only  one,  and  the  copy  of  one  ad 
dressed  to  the  trustees  of  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery,  which 
I  desire  to  produce  in  this  place  ;  the  first  exhibits  him  as 
a  friend,  and  the  second  simply  gives  me  credit  for  inau 
gurating  a  style  of  art  criticism  in  New  York,  which  is 
associated  with  many  pleasant  recollections. 

ALBANY,  March  23,  1848. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Your  letter  reached  me  last  evening, 
and  I  have  but  time  to  write  a  word. 

I  cannot  make  the  contract  for  the  future  which  you 
wish  ;  because  I  contemplate  some  changes  in  business,  the 
nature  and  order  of  which  I  do  not  yet  know,  but  1  see 


JAMES    HltOOKS.  183 

no  reason — unless  some  extraordinary  circumstances  pre 
vent —  that  would  forbid  the  arrangement  we  had  prior 
to  your  departure  for  Washington.  I  much  value  your 
industry,  activity,  and  peculiar  tastes,  and  should  always 
be  glad  to  avail  myself  of  them. 

J  thank  you  warmly  for  the  interest  you  have  taken  in 
the  Exj)res8,  and  can  assure  you  I  am  not  unmindful  of 

your  services. 

Yours  truly, 

JAMES  BROOKS. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  29, 1870. 

Gentlemen,  —  Charles  Lanman,  Esq.,  was  an  art  writer 
for  the  New  York  Express  more  than  twenty  years  ago, 
and  was  the  first  writer  and  critic  who,  through  the  New 
York  Express,  etc.,  made  that  a  department  and  science. 
He  sliowed  himself  in  all  these  articles  to  be  both  an 
artist  and  critic,  and  in  these  won  much  reputation. 

I  should  think  him  admirably  fitted  to  preside  over  your 

art  gallery. 

Yours  respectfully, 

JAMES  BROOKS. 

To  the  Trustees  Corcoran  Art  Gallery, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

Mr.  Brooks  was  born  in  Portland,  Me.,  in  1810  ;  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  his  age  became  a  clerk  in  a  store  ;  wras  a 
school-teacher  when  sixteen  ;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  graduated  at  Waterville  College.  He  served  in  the 
Legislatures  of  Maine  and  New  York,  and  was  a  represent 
ative  in  Congress  from  the  latter  State.  Established  the 
New  York  Express  in  1H.*W  ;  and  he  died  at  Washington  in 
April,  187;}.  A  blessing  on  the  memory  of  iny  departed 
friend. 


184  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 


LEWIS   CASS. 

IT  was  about  the  year  1828  that  I  first  saw  General 
Cass  in  Detroit ;  and  the  last  time  was  at  his  house  in 
Washington,  in  1860,  just  before  he  resigned  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  State.  In  that  early  time,  as  it  was  to  the 
end,  his  home  was  on  the  Detroit  River,  just  without  the 
limits  of  the  city  of  Detroit,  and  adjoining  the  estate  of 
William  Woodbridge.  I  had  been  sent  up  from  the  river 
Raisin  to  make  a  visit  at  the  Woodbridges',  and  was  thus 
enabled,  during  my  visit,  and  while  playing  wilh  the  sons 
of  the  two  big  men,  to  see  and  know  the  u  great  gov 
ernor."  He  had  for  many  years  before  been  a  warm, 
personal  friend  of  my  father,  and  so  continued  until  his 
own  death.  Like  that  of  Mr.  Woodbridge,  his  home  was 
surrounded  with  every  comfort,  and  many  of  the  ele 
gances  of  life,  but  they  were  as  unlike  in  character  as 
were  the  modes  of  thinking  and  the  habits  of  the  two  men. 
In  the  house  of  the  governor,  the  eye  was  attracted  by 
numerous  things  connected  with  the  Indians  and  the  wil 
derness  ;  but  in  the  house  of  the  lawyer,  the  various  evi 
dences  of  literary  culture  predominated.  The  former  was 
military,  official,  and  political ;  the  latter,  peaceful,  legal, 
and  scholarly. 

As  one  or  two  elaborate  lives  of  General  Cass  have  been 
published,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  I  should  give  any 
freshness  to  an  outline  sketch  of  his  career ;  but  as  he 
was  the  friend  of  three  generations  of  my  family,  and  is 
lovingly  remembered  by  the  survivors,  I  must  be  indulged 
to  the  following  extent:  lie  was  born  in  Exeter,  N  II., 
Oct.  9,  1782.  Having  received  a  limited  education  in  his 
native  place,  at  the  early  age  of  seventeen  he  crossed  the 


LEWIS   CASS.  185 

Alleghany  Mountains  on  foot,  to  seek  a  home  in  the 
Great  West,  then  an  almost  unexplored  wilderness. 
He  settled  at  Marietta,  O.,  studied  law,  and  was  success 
ful.  Elected  at  twenty-live  to  the  Legislature  of  Ohio,  he 
originated  the  bill  which  arrested  the  proceedings  of  Aaron 
Burr,  and,  as  stated  by  President  Jefferson,  was  the  first 
blow  given  to  what  is  known  as  Burr's  conspiracy.  In  1807 
he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Jefferson  marshal  of  the  State, 
and  held  the  office  till  the  latter  part  of  1811,  when  he 
volunteered  to  repel  Indian  aggressions  on  the  frontier. 
He  was  elected  colonel  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  Ohio 
Volunteers,  and  entered  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States  at  the  commencement  of  the  War  of  1812.  Having 
by  a  difficult  march  reached  Detroit,  he  urged  the  immedi 
ate  invasion  of  Canada,  and  was  the  author  of  the  procla 
mation  of  that  event.  He  was  the  first  to  land  in  arms  on 
the  enemy's  shore,  and,  with  a  small  detachment  of  troops, 
fought  and  won  the  first  battle,  that  of  the  Tarontoe.  At 
the  subsequent  capitulation  of  Detroit  he  was  absent  on 
important  service,  and  regretted  that  his  command  and 
himself  had  been  included  in  that  capitulation.  Liberated 
on  parole,  he  repaired  to  the  seat  of  government  to  report 
the  causes  of  the  disaster  and  the  failure  of  the  campaign. 
He  was  immediately  appointed  a  colonel  in  the  regular 
army,  and  soon  after  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general,  having  in  the  mean  time  been  elected  major-general 
of  the  Ohio  volunteers.  On  being  exchanged  and  released 
from  parole,  he  again  repaired  to  the  frontier,  and  joined 
the  army  for  the  recovery  of  Michigan.  Being  at  that 
time  without  a  command,  he  served  and  distinguished  him 
self  as  a  volunteer  aide-de-camp  to  General  Harrison  at 
the  battle  of  the  Thames.  He  was  appointed  by  President 
Madison,  in  October,  1813,  governor  of  Michigan.  His 


180  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

position  combined,  with  the  ordinary  duties  of  chief  magis 
trate  of  a  civilized  community,  the  immediate  manage 
ment  and  control,  as  superintendent,  of  the  relations  with 
the  numerous  and  powerful  Indian  tribes  in  that  region  of 
country.  He  conducted  with  success  the  affairs  of  the 
Territory  under  embarrassing  circumstances.  Under  his 
sway  peace  was  preserved  between  the  whites  and  the 
treacherous  and  disaffected  Indians,  law  and  order  estab 
lished,  and  the  Territory  rapidly  advanced  in  population, 
resources,  and  prosperity.  He  held  this  position  till  July, 
1831,  when  he  was,  by  President  Jackson,  made  Secretary 
of  War.  In  the  latter  part  of  1836,  President  Jackson 
appointed  him  minister  to  France,  where  he  remained 
until  1842,  when  he  requested  his  recall*  and  returned  to 
this  country.  In  January,  1845,  he  was  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  ;  which  place  he  resigned  on 
his  nomination,  in  May,  1848,  as  a  candidate  for  the  Pres 
idency  by  the  political  party  to  which  he  belonged.  After  the 
election  of  his  opponent  (General  Taylor)  to  that  office, 
the  Legislature  of  his  State,  in  1849,  re-elected  him  to  the 
Senate  for  the  unexpired  portion  of  his  original  term  of 
six  years.  When  Mr.  Buchanan  became  President,  he  in 
vited  General  Cass  to  the  head  of  the  Department  of 
State,  which  position  he  resigned  in  December,  18GO.  He 
devoted  some  attention  to  literary  pursuits,  and  his  writ 
ings,  speeches,  and  state  papers  would  make  several  vol 
umes  ;  among  which  is  one  entitled  "France;  its  King, 
Court,  and  Government,"  published  in  1840.  He  died  in 
Detroit,  June  17,  1800,  and  will  long  be  remembered  as  the 
most  eminent  and  successful  statesman  of  Michigan. 

As  it  is  my  intention,  in  all  my  notices  of  the  public 
men  I  have  known,  to  give  the  reader  some  particulars 
which  could  not  be  given  by  another,  I  now  proceed  to 


LEWIS    CASS.  187 

submit  what  little  I  h:ive  in  regard  to  (ieneral  Cass  ;  and, 
as  on  many  other  occasions,  I  shall  draw  upon  the  private 
correspondence  which  happens  to  be  in  my  possession. 

When  my  grandfather,  James  Lanman,  was  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  it  was  his  pleasure,  as  well  as  priv 
ilege,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  promote  the  prosperity  of 
the  Northwest,  and  especially  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan. 
From  the  numerous  letters  which  passed  between  himself 
and  the  governor,  1  have  selected  one,  written  by  the  latter 
to  the  former,  which,  if  nothing  more,  will  give  the  reader 
an  idea  of  the  writer's  graceful  and  interesting  style.  It  is 
dated  Detroit,  March  :M,  1*21 ,  and  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  am  happy  that  a  favorable  opportunity  has  occurred 
for  addressing  you.  I  have  intended  to  do  it  for  some 
time.  Not  that  I  had  anything  worthy  of  communication, 
but  that  I  was  anxious  to  express  to  yon  my  gratitude  for 
the  favorable  consideration  which  you  have  given  to  every 
question  pending  before  Congress  which  affected  our 
local  interest.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  learning  from  Judge 
Ruggles  (I*.),  a  ^ew  days  since,  that  you  intended  to  visit 
this  country  during  the  course  of  the  ensuing  season,  and 
to  attend  the  treaty  about  to  be  held  with  the  Indians.  I 
sincerely  hope  that  you  will  suffer  nothing  to  divert  you 
from  this  resolution.  Certainly  an  acquaintance  with 
Indians  and  Indian  affairs  must  be  a  great  desideratum 
in  the  national  legislature.  It  can  only  be  acquired  by 
personal  observation,  and  by  a  free  intercourse  with  them. 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  a  few  davs  spent 
among  them-will  give  more  information  respecting  their 
character,  situation,  wants,  and  feelings,  than  can  be 
acquired  during  a  long  life  in  any  other  manner. 

4  •  In  the  multitude  of  questions  upon  the  subject  of  Indian 
affairs,  which  require  the  decision  of  Congress,  practical 


188  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

knowledge  must  be  very  important  to  the  possessor,  and 
highly  useful  to  the  body  of  which  he  may  be  a  member. 
The  contrariety  of  opinions  which  have  appeared  upon 
this  topic,  and  the  crude  speculations  which  have  met  the 
public  eye,  conclusively  prove  that  practical  information 
is  not  brought  to  a  consideration  of  the  subject. 

"From  Buffalo  to  this  place,  a  passage  in  the  steamboat 
is  pleasant  and  expeditions.  From  here,  to  the  place  of 
holding  the  treaty,  I  will  procure,  with  pleasure,  the  neces 
sary  conveyance,  and  will  take  charge  of  everything 
which  relates  to  our  personal  convenience.  It  is  not  prob 
able  that  the  treaty  will  continue  more  than  eight  or  ten 
days  ;  and  I  may  venture  to  assure  3*011  that  our  jaunt  will 
be  perfectly  pleasant.  I  do  not  know  that  there  are  any 
other  lands  in  this  quarter  which  it  can  be  important  for 
the  government  to  procure,  and  consequently  this  is  the 
last  opportunity  of  the  kind  which  can  occur  near  here. 
The  treaty  will  be  held  in  July,  August,  or  September ; 
but  the  particular  time  will  depend,  in  a  great  measure, 
upon  the  convenience  of  yourself,  and  of  the  other  gentle 
men  of  the  Senate,  who  propose  to  attend.  If  you  have 
any  wish  upon  the  subject,  be  good  enough  to  communi 
cate  it  to  me.  You  will  of  course  come  to  my  house,  and 
remain  with  me  until  our  departure. 

"  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  your  son  (C.  J. 
Lanman)  since  I  received  Judge  Ruggles's  letter ;  but  I 
shall  request  him  to  accompany  us,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
buthe  will  do  so.  As  soon  as  the  time  is  definitely  settled, 
I  shall  write  to  you  again,  in  order  that  you  may  arrive  at 
Buffalo  in  time  to  take  passage  in  the  steamboat  without 
being  delayed.  AVith  much  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to 
be,  "Your  obedient  servant, 

"LEWIS  CASS." 


LEWIS   CASS. 

The  treaty  here  alluded  to  was  made  at  Chicago,  and 
was  one  of  about  twenty  which  were  negotiated  by  Gen 
eral  Cass.  The  kind  invitation  which  he  extended  in  tlu 
above  letter  could  not  be  accepted,  but  several  of  like 
character  were  accepted  by  my  father,  and  often  described 
to  strangers  at  his  fireside.  The  jurisdiction  of  General 
Cass,  while  he  was  governor,  extended  over  thirteen  tribes 
of  Indians,  numbering  in  all  more  than  forty  thousand 
souls  ;  and  few  Americans  have  done  as  much  as  he  did 
to  enrich  the  government  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  abori 
gines  ;  but,  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  he  always  treated 
them  with  kindness.  After  an  experience  of  seven  or 
eight  years  in  dealing  with  them,  his  views  in  regard  to 
the  policy  which  should  be  adopted  by  the  United  States 
were  fully  matured,  and  then  it  was  that  he  addressed  a 
letter  to  my  father  on  the  subject ;  it  is  long,  but  histori 
cally  valuable,  was  written  from  Detroit,  Jan.  ID,  1820, 
and  is  as  follows  :  — 

DETROIT,  Jan.  19, 1820. 
C.  J.  LAXMAN,  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Various  projects  have  been  submitted 
to  Congress,  within  a  few  years,  for  the  regulation  of  Indian 
affairs.  But  such  objections  appear  to  have  existed  against 
all  of  them  as  to  prevent  their  adoption.  This  ought  not 
to  excite  surprise,  if  we  consider  the  nature  of  the  subject 
and  the  persons  who  are  to  be  affected  by  these  regula 
tions. 

Our  intercourse,  political  and  commercial,  with  the  In 
dians  can  only  be  known  by  those  who  are  practically 
acquainted  with  it.  It  is  a  business  of  minute  and  exten 
sive  detail,  involving  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  In 
dians,  their  habits,  customs,  wants,  and  feelings.  Changes 
under  such  circumstances  are  dangerous  ;  it  is  difficult  to 


100  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

foresee  the  effect  they  will  produce.  Without  ammuni 
tion  and  clothing,  the  Indians  must  perish.  They  are 
wholly  dependent  for  their  existence  upon  the  supplies 
they  procure  from  us. 

If  the  trade  with  them  be  seriously  affected,  these  sup 
plies  may  be  withheld,  and  incalculable  mischief  ensue. 
It  is  therefore  best  that  Congress  should  proceed  in  the 
investigation  of  this  subject  slowly  and  cautiously,  and 
should  regard  attentively  the  consequences  of  every  prop 
osition. 

It  is  doubtful  however  whether  any  change,  which  may 
be  made  in  the  laws  regulating  trade  and  intercourse  with 
the  Indians,  will  improve  the  system.  The  present  act 
has  existed  nearly  twenty  years,  and  it  is  itself  merely  the 
modification  of  a  law  which  had  existed  nearly  as  long. 
No  practical  evil  has  attended  its  operation  which  re 
quires  any  change  in  the  law  itself.  The  whole  subject  of 
the  trade  is  left  open  to  executive  regulation.  Licenses 
are  to  be  granted,  in  such  manner  and  upon  such  terms  as 
the  President  may  direct.  If  it  be  thought  practicable  to 
interdict  the  introduction  of  whiskey  into  the  Indian  coun 
try,  to  confine  the  trade  to  one  place,  or  to  enforce  any 
other  regulation  which  may  be  deemed  salutary,  the  Presi 
dent  has  only,  by  the  existing  lawr,  so  to  direct ;  and  the  de 
tails  of  the  subject  had  better  be  thus  left  than  introduced 
into  the  law  itself.  A  mode  of  trade  which  may  suit  one 
place  or  tribe  may  not  suit  another ;  and  regulations 
which  nrc  thought  beneficial  to-day  may  to-morrow  be 
found  injurious.  An  attentive  examination  of  the  pres 
ent  law  will  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  it  has  been  cau 
tiously  and  wisely  drawn,  and  that  it  contains  provisions 
amply  sufficient  to  attain  all  practical  and  useful  objects. 

It  has  however  been  proposed  that  a  superintendent  of 


LEWIS   CASS.  101 

Indian  affairs  should  be  appointed  at  Washington,  and  that 
all  licenses  for  Indian  trade  should  be  granted  at  that  place. 

Such  an  oflicer  in  the  present  state  of  things  can  scarcely 
be  deemed  necessary.  Our  military  establishment  is 
greatly  reduced,  and  the  duties  of  the  head  of  the  depart 
ment  are  much  less  multifarious  than  they  were.  The 
appropriation  for  Indian  affairs  was  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  for  the  last  year,  and  the  accounts  of  the 
disbursing  officers  for  the  expenditure  of  this  sum  are  settled 
in  the  second  auditor's  of  lice.  There  is  no  complaint  that 
the  business  in  that  office  is  too  great  to  be  executed  there, 
everything  is  done  and  promptly  done  ;  nor  is  there,  any 
application  for  an  increase  of  means.  IVy  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  Treasury,  every  account  must  be  first  ex 
amined  by  one  of  the  auditors  and  finally  passed  by  one 
of  the  comptrollers  ;  as  therefore  every  voucher  must  take 
the  same  course,  which  is  now  given  to  it,  there  can  be  no 
necessity  for  the  creation  of  an  office  in  which  some  new 
incipient  proceeding  shall  take  place.  The  checks  are 
now  amply  sufficient,  and  if  they  are  not,  the  same  objec 
tions  will  apply  to  all  other  accounts,  and  there  will  be 
some  reasons  for  instituting  another  branch  of  the  treaty 
department  for  their  examination.  One  clerk  is  charged 
with  the  execution  of  this  duty  in  the  auditor's  office,  and 
it  is  readily  and  correctly  done. 

If  then  there  exists  no  necessity  for  the  creation  of 
such  an  office,  in  order  to  insure  a  prompt  and  accurate 
adjustment  of  the  accounts,  it  will  be  difficult  to  determine 
what  other  duties  would  justify  such  a  measure.  The 
Secretary  of  War  is  the  head  of  the  department,  and  con 
sequently  every  measure  would  be  submitted  for  his  de 
cision.  What  would  be  gained  by  the  creation  of  an 
office,  with  its  additional  train  of  expense,  to  have  merely 


192  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

as  an  intermediate  agent  between  the  Secretary  and  those 
who  are  to  execute  his  decisions?  Would  it  not  be  much 
more  proper  to  create  an  independent  officer  for  the  Land 
Bounty  Office,  for  the  Pension  Office,  and  for  every  branch 
of  duty  which  devolves  upon  the  War  Department.  The 
duty  of  all  these  sections  of  the  department  are  much 
greater  than  those  which  relate  to  Indian  affairs,  and  in 
fact,  one  would  suppose  that  the  correspondence  on  this 
subject  was  comparatively  small  and  unimportant. 

The  details  of  the  business  are  and  must  be  managed 
by  the  agents  in  the  Indian  country  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  that  any  important  incident  can  often  occur  re 
quiring  a  reference  to  the  War  Department ;  claims  for 
injuries  by  our  citizens  and  by  the  Indians  must  form 
the  larger  class  of  cases,  and  these  are  transmitted  to  the 
auditor  ;  surely  the  duty  of  a  superintendent  could  not  oc 
cupy  one  month  in  the  year,  except  in  what  relates  to 
business  merely  clerical ;  and  this,  under  any  circumstan 
ces,  would  be  executed  by  very  subordinate  officers. 
When  it  is  found  that  the  duties  of  his  department  press 
too  heavily  upon  the  very  able  and  intelligent  officer  at  the 
head  of  it,  it  will  be  time  to  institute  an  inquiry  into  the 
expediency  of  establishing  the  office  in  question. 

It  has  also  been  proposed  that  all  licenses  for  the 
Indian  trade  should  be  granted  at  Washington.  But  how 
is  it  possible  for  the  traders  to  make  their  application  at 
that  place  ?  and,  if  they  could,  what  practical  advantages 
would  result  from  it,  —  would  it  serve  to  prevent  abuses  in 
the  first  instance,  or  to  correct  or  punish  them  afterwards? 
The  character,  conduct,  and  pretensions  of  the  applicants 
cannot  be  known  at  Washington,  and  any  attempt  to  dis 
criminate  between  them  would  degenerate  into  an  idle 
ceremony,  or  would  result  in  personal  favoritism ;  and 


LEWIS   CASS.  103 

equally  diflicult  would  it  be  to  investigate  at  Washing 
ton  the  conduct  of  the  traders  in  the  Indian  country. 
Breaches  of  the  law,  or  of  the  bonds  which  may  be  given, 
can  be  known  only  where  the  whole  course  of  the  trade 
is  known.  And  the  seat  of  the  general  government  is  too 
far  removed  from  the  scene  of  this  trade  to  allow  any  of 
ficer,  however  vigilant,  stationed  at  the  former  place,  to 
ascertain  the  abuse  to  which  the  trade  is  liable,  or  the 
conduct  of  the  traders  themselves. 

The  plan  of  establishing  a  superintendent  at  St.  Louis 
is  liable  to  all  the  objections  which  may  be  urged  against 
his  establishment  at  Washington,  and  to  some  wrhich  are 
peculiar  to  itself. 

St.  Louis  is  not  and  cannot  be  a  central  point  for  the 
management  of  Indian  affairs.  From  Florida,  from 
Georgia,  Alabama,  the  Red  River  country,  the  Lower 
Mississippi,  the  State  of  Ohio,  the  whole  lake  country,  and 
the  State  of  New  York,  the  communication  is  much  more 
easy  and  direct  with  Washington  than  with  St.  Louis. 
The  only  Indians  who  have  any  natural  connection  with 
that  place  are  those  upon  the  Missouri  and  a  portion  of 
those  upon  the  Mississippi. 

What  possible  advantage  would  ensue  to  the  public  by 
sending  a  communication  from  Pensacola,  Natchitoches, 
or  Michillimachinac  to  St.  Louis,  in  order  that  an  officer 
at  that  place  may  forward  it  to  Washington,  and  that  the 
answer  and  instructions  may  travel  the  same  circuitous 
route  ?  The  Indians  at  these  places  never  visit  St.  Louis. 
Nor  is  there  any  connection  which  would  lead  them  there. 
If  an  agent  to  manage  Indian  affairs  at  St.  Louis  is  want 
ing,  then  let  him  be  appointed.  But  let  not  his  juris 
diction  extend  over  persons  and  places  remotely  situated, 
of  which  he  can  know  nothing. 
13 


194  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

An  important  part  of  the  duty  of  a  superintendent  is 
the  distribution  of  the  necessary  funds  to  the  respective 
agents.  But  St.  Louis  is  very  inconveniently  situated  for 
this  purpose ;  its  circulating  medium  cannot  pass  the 
boundaries  of  the  State  ;  it  would  be  wholly  useless  in 
the  southern,  southwestern,  and  northwestern  parts  of  the 
country.  Remittances  for  these  expenditures  can  be  made 
from  the  treasury  with  much  more  ease  than  from  St. 
Louis. 

It  is  the  duty  of  an  agent  to  license  the  traders,  and  to 
take  care  that  the  laws  respecting  them  are  faithfully  ex 
ecuted  ;  to  pay  the  Indians  their  annuities,  and  to  perform 
the  various  treaty  stipulations  which  exist  to  protect 
them  in  their  persons  and  property,  to  prevent  any  persons 
from  trespassing  upon  their  lands,  to  examine  and  to  re 
dress  all  complaints,  as  well  from  them  as  from  our  own 
citizens,  to  carry  into  effect  the  regulations  and  instruc 
tions  of  the  government ;  and  generally,  by  mild,  firm,  and 
prudent  conduct,  to  conciliate  their  esteem,  and  to  attach 
them  to  the  people  and  government  of  the  United  States. 

In  the  execution  of  these  various  duties  it  may  readily 
be  conceived  how  useless  it  would  be  to  station  an  office 
at  St.  Louis  with  any  power  to  control  these  agents  and 
to  report  to  the  War  Department.  It  will  be  much  easier 
for  the  agent  to  report  directly  to  the  seat  of  government ; 
and  the  proper  authority  there  can  answer  them  as  well  as 
a  superintendent. 

In  fact,  it  is  difficult  to  discover  one  solitary  reason  for 
the  location  of  such  an  office  at  that  place.  It  is  farcical 
to  think  of  vesting  in  him  authority  to  issue  licenses 
through  the  whole  extent  of  Indian  country.  No  traders 
embarked  in  this  business  pass  St.  Louis,  except  those 
destined  up  the  Missouri.  Can  they  travel  from  the 


LEWIS   CASS.  195 

northern  and  southern  extreme  of  the  Union  to  that  place 
annually  for  the  necessary  authority  to  prosecute  their 
trades?  And  when  they  arrive  there,  what  is  known  of 
them?  Why  send  them  one  thousand  miles  from  their 
route  to  a  person  ignorant  of  their  character  and  standing, 
unacquainted  with  the  trade,  and  knowing  little  of  its 
details,  except  in  that  quarter  within  hisown  observation? 
Nothing  is  gained  by  this  process  to  the  government,  the 
commissioner,  or  the  Indians.  Frauds  will  neither  be  pre 
vented  nor  punished.  And  the  only  result  will  be  the 
establishment  of  a  useless  and  expensive  office,  which  will 
serve  merely  as  a  channel  of  communication  between  the 
government  and  the  agents  ;  which  in  all  cases  will  in 
crease  and  in  many  will  double  the  distance  and  the  time 
of  communication  ;  which  will  embarrass  and  delay  the 
public  service  ;  which  will  send  the  traders,  at  a  great  ex 
pense,  from  where  they  are  known  to  where  they  are  un 
known  for  licenses,  and  which  will  introduce  confusion  and 
insubordination  into  the  whole  department. 

But  why  is  St.  Louis  selected  as  the  seat  of  this  office? 
The  Indian  trade  at  that  place  has  been  greatly  over 
rated.  The  exportation  of  furs  from  Michillimachinac 
is  treble  in  quantity  and  still  greater  in  value.  Is  this 
trade  to  be  turned  from  its  natural  and  accustomed  chan 
nel  to  gratify  any  particular  section  of  the  country  ?  Are 
the  Indians  between  the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  exceed 
ing  forty  thousand  in  number,  to  be  sent  to  St.  Louis  for 
the  transaction  of  all  their  business?  Such  an  effort  may 
be  made,  but  cannot  succeed.  Their  local  situation  and 
their  habits  equally  forbid  it. 

The  agents,  by  one  of  the  bills,  are  required  to  make 
monthly  reports  ;  and  this  requisition  being  impracticable, 
in  consequence  of  the  exclusion  of  some  of  the  agencies 


196  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

by  the  winter,  it  is  impossible  to  discover  what  is  to  be  re 
ported.  The  agent  can  only  say,  I  sat  by  my  fire  to-day 
and  will  to-morrow.  The  Indians  at  the  approach  of  winter 
separate  for  their  hunting  camps.  These  they  do  not  leave 
till  spring  ;  until  then  there  is  little  to  be  done,  and  it  is 
seldom  that  anything  occurs  worthy  of  notice. 

It  has  also  been  proposed  that  each  trader  shall  sup 
port  a  blacksmith,  provide  iron,  coal,  cattle,  farming  uten 
sils,  and  seed  corn. 

In  the  name  of  all  that  is  serious,  at  whose  expense  is 
this  to  be  done?  The  trader  must  charge  it  on  the  goods, 
and  the  poor  Indians  must  ultimately  pay  it.  Merchan 
dise  in  the  Indian  country  is  already  sufficiently  high,  from 
the  nature  of  the  tride,  and  it  is  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  Indians  can  purchase  enough  for  their  support.  But 
if  the  traders  are  to  be  loaded  with  these  requisitions,  it 
will  soon  be  found  that  the  most  necessary  articles  will  be 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Indians.  How  is  it  pos 
sible,  even  at  almost  any  expense,  that  anvils,  bellows, 
blacksmith's  tools  generally,  iron,  etc.,  can  be  transported 
in  birch  canoes  or^carried  over  the  numerous  portages  upon 
men's  shoulders?  Who  would  undertake  at  any  price  to 
drive  cattle  to  the  Rooky  Mountains,  to  the  head  of  the 
Mississippi,  or  to  the  extremity  of  Lake  Superior?  And 
supposing  all  this  to  be  practicable  and  within  the  means 
of  every  trader,  still  it  would  be  useless  to  the  Indians. 
The  animals  would  be  killed,  the  seed  corn  consumed,  and 
the  fire  of  the  blacksmith  seldom  kindled.  The  remote 
Indians  cannot  be  brought  immediately  to  adopt  a  system 
of  agriculture.  It  is  incompatible  with  their  education 
and  habits.  The  first  impression  must  be  made  upon  the 
Indians  near  our  own  border.  They  must  see  and  feel  the 
advantages  which  are  offered  to  them.  And  these  Indians 


LEWIS  CASS.  197 

can  procure  all  the  necessary  articles  much  cheaper  within 
our  settlements,  than  from  the  traders.  In  fact,  all  the  iron 
work  which  they  require  is  made  at  the  public  shops. 

Of  the  factories  I  have  nothing  to  say.  But  whether 
they  are  continued  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  no  power 
which  can  be  applied  will  prevent  private  traders  from  en 
tering  the  Indian  country.  Our  settlements  are  so  ex 
tended  that  adventurers  will  embark  in  this  business,  and 
sound  policy  will  dictate  that  what  cannot  be  prevented 
should  be  tolerated  and  regulated. 

The  governors  of  Territories  are  ex-oflicio  superintend 
ents  of  Indian  affairs  within  their  respective  Territories. 
AYhether  a  general  superintending  oflice  be  created  or  not, 
this  duty  should  remain.  If  the  oflice  be  created,  the  ter 
ritorial  governor  would  be  subordinate  to  the  superintend 
ent.  The  United  States  thus  receives  the  service  of  re 
spectable  and  highly  responsible  officers  in  an  important 
department,  and  this  as  a  general  branch  of  their  duty. 
The  governors  are,  in  fact,  agents,  and  conduct  the  Indian 
affairs  at  the  seat  of  their  government,  and  have  a  general 
superintendence  over  subordinate  affairs.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  how  the  executive  duties  in  a  Territory  can  be 
performed  without  the  exercise  of  this  power.  The  Terri 
tories  are  of  course  at  the  outskirts  of  the  Union.  Here 
our  citizens  and  the  Indians  meet  Collisions  are  perpet 
ually  occurring,  which  demand  the  interference  of  some 
controlling  authority.  Injuries  are  committed  and  redress 
is  claimed.  There  must  be  some  power  to  wield  and 
direct  the  physical  force  of  the  country,  and  this  power 
must  be  authorized  to  hear  and  decide  upon  these  sub 
jects.  In  places  so  remote,  it  is  also  highly  important 
that  these  questions  should  be  investigated  and  decided 
by  an  officer  whose  station  would  give  dignity  and  effect 


198  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

to  his  representations.  The  Indians  too,  under  all  circum 
stances,  are  desirous  of  appealing  to  the  highest  authority, 
and  the  representative  of  their  great  Father  should  be  the 
point  of  union  between  them  and  their  white  brethren. 
This  duty  has  existed  ever  since  the  existence  of  Terri 
tories,  and  will  be  found  in  the  ordinance  of  July,  1878. 
At  the  seat  of  government  of  Arkansas,  at  Pensacola,  and 
at  Detroit,  some  officer  must  be  charged  with  these  duties, 
and  the  public  would  gain  nothing  by  taking  from  the  gov 
ernors  their  authority  and  vesting  it  in  subordinate  officers. 
It  may  be  asked,  What  can  be  done  to  aid  the  Indians? 
I  answer,  distribute  gratuitously,  to  such  of  them  as  wish 
it,  farming  utensils,  cattle,  and  seed  corn  ;  begin  with 
those  upon  our  borders.  Employ  good  men  to  teach 
them  ;  insure  a  mild,  firm,  and  even  policy  ;  give  them 
occasionally  goods,  ammunition,  and  provisions  ;  let  not 
their  prejudices  be  shocked  unnecessarily.  Nor  must  wre 
be  too  sanguine  with  respect  to  an  immediate  result ;  time 
and  experience  will  do  much,  but  all  will  be  hazarded  by 
a  precipitate  and  injudicious  policy. 

Very  truly, 

LEWIS  CASS. 

When,  in  1821,  the  question  was  discussed  about  estab 
lishing  a  land  office  in  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  General 
Cass  took  an  active  part  in  designating  the  proper  per 
sons  for  the  new  offices  of  register  and  receiver.  His 
candidate  for  the  former  position  was  Charles  Noble,  of 
whom,  in  letters  addressed  to  Martin  Van  Buren  and 
Benjamin  Huggles,  he  said,  "  He  is  a  young  man  of 
handsome  talents,  natural  and  acquired,  and  with  the  fair 
est  character  and  best  principles."  The  letters  in  question 
were  borne  to  Washington  by  my  father,  who  also  threw 


LEWIS  CA8S.  199 

his  influence  in  the  same  direction,  but  without  avail,  for 
an  ex-member  of  Congress,  and  a  most  excellent  man, 
Robert  Clark,  received  the  appointment.  As  my  grand 
father  had  frequently  consulted  the  wishes  of  General 
Cass  in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  Michigan,  he  took  it  upon 
himself  to  recommend  my  father  for  the  office  of  receiver, 
and  surely  no  true-hearted  reader  will  rebuke  me  for 
printing  the  following  letter  :  — 

DETROIT,  Dec.  23,  1821. 
To  "WILLIAM  IT.  CRAWFORD,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Sir,  —  I  had  the  honor,  during  the  last  session  of  Con 
gress,  to  recommend  to  you  Colonel  Charles  J.  Lanman, 
of  the  county  of  Monroe  in  this  Territory,  as  a  gentleman 
every  way  qualified  to  fill  one  of  the  land  offices,  which  it 
was  then  expected  would  be  established  in  that  quarter. 
The  proposition  for  their  establishment  was  postponed  in 
the  Senate,  but,  as  there  is  reason  for  believing  that  the 
subject  will  be  now  more  favorably  received,  I  take  the 
liberty  of  renewing  the  application  then  made. 

T  have  very  seldom  offered  any  testimonial  of  mine  in 
favor  of  any  individual  with  more  interest  than  in  this 
case,  nor  is  there  any  person  within  my  knowledge  upon 
whom  the  office  could  be  better  bestowed,  or  who  would 
discharge  its  duties  with  more  zeal,  fidelity,  or  ability.  I 
know  him  well,  and  do  not  fear  to  pledge  myself  for  his 
capacity  and  integrity.  No  young  man  has  ever  arrived 
among  us  giving  fairer  promise  of  an  honorable  and  use 
ful  course  of  life,  and  of  that  reputation  and  standing 
which  are  its  invariable  and  necessary  results.  Very 
respectfully  sir,  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

LEWIS  CASS. 


200  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

This  letter,  which  was  supported  by  another  on  the 
same  subject  from  William  Woodbridge,  had  the  intended 
effect,  and  my  father  was  duly  appointed,  holding  the 
office  eight  years.  During  the  period  of  nearly  fifty  years, 
the  friendship  which  existed  between  him  and  General 
Cass  was  unbroken,  and  of  course,  a  large  number  of 
letters  were  exchanged  between  them,  but  what  have  al 
ready  been  presented  will  suffice  as  specimens. 

The  letters  which  it  was  my  privilege  to  receive  from 
General  Cass  were  also  numerous,  but  they  were  mostly 
upon  passing  topics,  and  in  looking  over  them,  I  find  few 
passages  which  are  either  characteristic  or  of  public  interest. 
One  or  two  of  them,  however,  may  be  quoted  perhaps  as 
coming  within  the  plan  of  the  personal  recollections  which 
form  the  staple  of  the  present  volume.  In  acknowledg 
ing  the  receipt  of  a  copy  of  my  "  Adventures  in  the 
Wilds  of  America,"  this  friend  of  my  early  days  sent  me 
the  following  note  :  — 

WASHINGTON,  March  17, 1857. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  return  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  in 
teresting  volumes  you  have  been  good  enough  to  send  me. 
I  have  read  them  with  much  pleasure.  They  are  graphic 
and  faithful  in  description,  and  powerful  in  narration  ;  the 
reader  follows  the  traveller  with  unflagging  interest.  Re 
viewing  many  of  the  scenes  in  your  pages,  which,  years 
ago,  I  surveyed  in  the  wildness  of  nature,  I  have  recalled 
with  vivid  recollections  the  impression  they  then  made  upon 
me,  and  I  thank  you  for  the  gratification  which  this  retro 
spect  has  afforded  me.  I  am,  dear  sir, 

Truly  yours, 

LEWIS  CASS, 


MANTON    KASTBUKN.  201 

When  my  "Dictionary  of  Congress  "was  published,  among 
the  friends  to  whom  I  sent  copies  was  General  Cass,  and 
he  very  much  more  than  paid  me  for  the  volume  by  send 
ing  me  the  following  :  — 

WASHINGTON,  Feb.  4, 1850. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the 
present  of  your  interesting  Congressional  biography.  I 
have  looked  it  over  with  much  gratification,  and  shall  here 
after  peruse  it  with  more.  It  was  a  good  thought,  that. 
of  preparing  such  a  work,  and  well  has  it  been  executed. 
I  have  been  greatly  struck  with  the  fortunate  manner  in 
which  you  have  avoided  that  sameness  which  is  almost 
necessarily  incident  to  such  an  undertaking,  by  spirited 
sketches,  true  while  characteristic.  I  congratulate  you 
upon  the  successful  accomplishment  of  your  task. 

Accept  mv  thanks  for  the  kind  terms  in  which  you  have 
been  pleased  to  speak  of  me.  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  great 

regard,  Truly  yours. 

LEWIS  CASS. 

This  friend  of  departed  years  was  an  honor  to  his  native 
country,  and,  as  the  leading  landmark  in  the  history  of 
my  native  Michigan,  he  must  always  be  remembered  by 
me  with  pride  and  affection. 


MANTON   EASTBURN. 

Now  that  this  good  man  has  passed  away  into  the  land 
of  peace,  the  spirit  moves  me  to  give  the  public  a  single 
glimpse  of  his  character  from  my  own  humble  standpoint. 
He  was  an  honored  bishop  for  thirty  years  ;  and  yet  I  knew 
him  before  his  promotion.  During  my  Pearl  Street  days 
in  New  York,  I  had  a  habit  of  attending  the  Church  of 


202  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

the  Ascension  on  Sunday  evenings  ;  and  some  of  the  wise 
and  loving  sermons  which  I  there  heard  can  never  be  for 
gotten.  One  of  them,  especially,  made  a  very  deep  im 
pression  on  my  mind  ;  and  it  was  from  this  text,  '  '  We 
have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not  danced  ;  we  have 
mourned  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not  lamented."  Among 
the  congregation,  Init  not  one  of  the  listeners,  on  that 
occasion,  was  one  of  the  students  of  the  General  Theologi 
cal  Seminary.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  lady,  occupied 
a  conspicuous  seat  in  the  gallery,  near  the  pulpit,  and,  by 
his  talking  and  laughing,  conducted  himself  after  the  man 
ner  of  a  very  foolish  boy  ;  so  improper  was  his  conduct 
indeed,  that  one  of  the  congregation  spoke  of  him  after 
wards  as  "  a  disgraceful  sprig  of  divinity."  But  the  dan 
cing  days  of  that  young  man  and  poet  came  to  an  end  ;  and 
he  is,  to-day,  a  bishop  of  the  Episcopal  church.  The  ser- 
rnon  alluded  to  had  a  power  in  it  I  could  not  resist  ;  and, 
although  my  leanings,  both  as  boy  and  man,  have  been 
towards  the  Presbyterian  form  of  worship,  I  wrote  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Eastburn  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  it  is  his  reply 
which  I  now  wish  to  print.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
the  late  bishop's  imperious  manners,  or  of  his  independence 
and  church  prejudices,  his  sermons  prove  him  to  have  been 
an  eloquent  preacher,  his  books  display  scholarship  of  a 
high  order,  his  personal  friends  will  always  sing  his  praises 
because  of  his  kind  heart  and  his  fidelity,  and  the  following 
letter  will  exhibit  him  as  an  earnest  Bible  Christian  :  — 


YOKK,  March  2,  1837. 

My  dear  young  Friend,  —  I  hope  you  will  not  suppose 
me  to  be  merely  trying  to  make  out  an  apology  when  I  say 
to  you  that  a  succession  of  interruptions  has  hindered  rne 
from  aooner  addressing  you  on  the  interesting  subject 


MANTON   EAgTliUltN.  203 

of  your  spiritual  welfare.  Such,  however,  is  the  fact ;  and 
one  reason  of  my  wishing  to  see  you  was  that  I  could  have 
expressed  to  you  in  less  time  my  thoughts  and  feelings, 
and  probably  with  more  definiteuess,  by  a  personal  inter 
view  than  by  any  written  communication.  Jt  gives  me 
sincere  joy,  however,  to  speak  to  you  in  any  way  ;  but  I 
must  beg  that,  if  you  iind  need  of  any  further  counsel, 
you  will  lay  aside  all  restraint  and  timidity,  and  come  to 
me  as  you  would  to  the  most  intimate  friend  and  brother. 

It  has  pleased  God  to  touch  your  heart  with  a  sense  of 
the  vanity  of  the  world,  your  own  sinfulness,  and  your 
need  of  Christ.  This  is  the  first  dawning  of  religious 
impression  in  your  heart.  Here  let  me  impress  upon  you 
the  great  danger  lest  these  feelings  should  be  merely  tran 
sient,  like  "  the  morning  cloud  and  the  early  dew."  Such 
they  will  certainly  be,  unless  followed  up  by  the  means  of 
grace.  Make  it  your  earnest  prayer,  therefore,  to  God 
that  he  will  bring  you  to  a  deep  lasting  sense  of  your  past 
sins,  and  that  he  would  bring  you  in  gratitude  and  faith 
to  lay  hold  immediately  upon  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  way  of  eternal  life  and  salvation.  In  addi 
tion  to  this,  take  up  the  Bible  and  read  it  regularly,  accom 
panying  your  reading  with  prayer  for  a  divine  blessing  on 
its  perusal.  You  will  find,  in  this  way,  that  your  convic 
tions  will  ripen  into  settled  principles,  and  that  you  will 
grow  in  happiness,  in  knowledge,  in  strength  to  obey 
God's  commandments,  and  in  the  ability  to  pursue  steadily 
the  despised  but  certain  road  "  which  leadeth  unto  life." 

Allow  me  to  suggest  to  you,  my  dear  sir,  the  expediency 
of  your  cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  one  or  more  pious 
friends.  Nothing  is  more  calculated  to  encourage  and 
strengthen  religious  feelings  than  this.  If  you  find  that 
you  increase  in  your  interest  in  the  great  subject  of  reli- 


204  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

gion,  and  that  your  knowledge  becomes  greater,  I  should 
recommend  that  you  should  commence  some  part  in  the 
duties  of  a  Sunday  school.  Perhaps  you  may  feel  yourself 
unfitted  for  this  ;  but  there  are  various  departments  in  the 
duty  of  a  teacher,  and  you  might  begin  with  the  more  easy. 
The  reason  for  my  mentioning  this  is  that  it  would  bring 
you  into  acquaintance  with  some  young  gentlemen  of  de 
cided  Christian  character,  whose  fraternal  interest  in  you 
would  be  of  great  service,  and  whose  occasional  society 
would  prove  interesting. 

Another  thing  I  would  urge  on  you  is  this,  to  have  as 
little  to  do  as  possible  with  irreligious,  worldly  companions. 
To  a  certain  extent  a  Christian  is  compelled  to  mix  with 
the  world  in  the  daily  business  of  life.  Seek  to  preserve 
yourself  from  the  contagion,  however,  of  evil  example  and 
conversation,  even  though  you  cannot  avoid  witnessing  it. 
And,  if  you  have  been  for  some  time  on  intimate  terms 
with  a  few  who  are  living  altogether  for  this  world,  do  not 
shake  them  off  harshly,  but  so  manage  matters  that  you 
may  appear  before  them  in  an  aspect  of  love.  If  your  own 
views  continue,  these  persons  will,  by  degrees,  drop  off  as 
a  matter  of  course  ;  for  "how  can  two  walk  together  except 
they  be  agreed  ?  "  Of  course  I  need  not  say  to  you  that, 
in  no  respect,  should  you  comply  with  them  in  anything 
inconsistent  with  your  present  convictions  and  with  the  light 
of  conscience.  Do  not  have  any  compromise  with  worldly 
men.  This  will  destroy  your  character  at  once,  and  will 
prevent  God's  blessing.  Boldly  and  firmly,  but  modestly 
and  humbly,  take  your  own  course  and  yield  to  nothing. 

I  should  recommend  you  to  have  some  religious  book 
constantly  in  reading.  When  one  is  finished,  take  up  an 
other.  This  will  elevate  your  mind  and  warm  your  heart. 

I  have,  perhaps,  not  been  at  all  to  the  point  in  what  I 


MANTON   EASTBURN.  205 

have  said  ;  but  you  will  easily  perceive  that,  from  my 
entire  unacqoaintance  with  your  character  and  habits,  I 
must  speak  to  you  a  good  deal  in  the  dark.  If  what  I 
have  said  does  not  meet  your  case,  I  beg,  affectionately, 
that  you  will  excuse  me,  and  accept  the  purpose  and  inten 
tion  of  my  heart.  It  is  my  earnest  wish  to  see  you  ;  for  I 
could  say  more  in  five  minutes,  in  a  conversation  with  you, 
than  in  whole  sheets  of  letters. 

That  God  may  be  pleased  to  lead  you  on  to  an  entire 
consecration  of  yourself  to  his  service,  and  may  at  last 
give  you  a  place  in  his  kingdom  of  happiness  and  glory,  is 
the  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

MANTON  EASTBURN. 

That  I  subsequently  became  personally  acquainted  with 
the  writer  of  this  noble  letter,  and,  prior  to  his  removal  to 
Boston,  was  privileged  to  enjoy  his  friendship,  were  a  nat 
ural  result.  In  his  manners  and  air  of  authority  he  always 
seemed  to  me  to  be  a  model  bishop  and  Christian  gentle 
man  ;  and  my  affections  were  with  him  in  all  his  public  life. 
In  the  early  part  of  1800,  while  endeavoring  to  have  a 
clerical  friend  of  mine  transferred  from  a  Southern  parish 
to  one  in  Massachusetts,  I  wrote  the  bishop  a  letter 
on  the  subject.  In  his  reply,  which  was  very  kind  and 
minute,  he  promised  to  do-  what  he  could  for  my  friend, 
and  concluded  the  business  part  of  it  with  these  words  :  — 

"  But  yon  know  that  bishops  of  dioceses  are  not  always 
consulted  in  these  matters." 

Another  paragraph  of  the  same  letter  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  been  very  much  gratified  to  hear  from  you  after 
the  lapse  of  so  many  years,  and  feel  grateful  that  you  have 
not  forgotten  me.  I  remember  you  well ;  and  allow  me  to 


206  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

express  the  hope  that,  as  my  ministrations  were  the  humble 
instrument  of  leading  you  into  our  beloved  church,  you 
still  remain  attached  to  those  evangelical  and  Protestant 
truths  which  are  the  glory  of  our  Prayer-Book .  I  say  this 
because,  since  I  saw  you,  views  and  practices  have  arisen 
in  our  communion  at  utter  variance  icith  the  principles  of 
the  Reformation,  and  tending  toward  the  doctrines  and  cere 
monies  of  that  IDOLATROUS  PAPAL  CHURCH  f  rom  whose  do 
minion  we  came  out.  Build  all  your  hopes,  my  dear  friend, 
upon  Jesus,  received  in  your  soul  by  faith.  With  great 
regard,  I  am,  sincerely  and  affectionately,  yours  as  of  old." 
The  last  time  I  saw  Bishop  Eastburn  was  in  1871,  when 
he  attended  the  general  convention  at  Baltimore,  and  came 
over  from  that  city  to  preach  in  Georgetown,  on  which 
occasion  he  spent  a  night  under  my  roof,  and  greatly 
delighted  me  with  a  long  talk  about  the  olden  times  in 
New  York,  and  with  anecdotes  of  his  several  visits  to  Eng 
land,  the  land  of  his  nativity.  As  I  recall  the  manly  pres 
ence  and  exalted  character  of  the  departed  bishop,  the 
words  of  Thomas  Fuller  come  into  my  mind,  when  speak 
ing  of  the  faithful  minister :  c ;  He  was  moderate  in  his 
tenets  and  opinions  ;  and,  lying  on  his  death-bed,  he  be 
queathed  to  each  of  his  parishioners  his  precepts  and 
example  for  a  legacy." 


LOUIS    LEGRAND   NOBLE. 

WHILE  my  sympathies  have  always  been  with  the  Pres 
byterians,  several  of  my  most  intimate  friends  have  been 
clergymen  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Their  number  corre 
sponds  with  that  of  the  "seven  golden  candlesticks "  of 
the  Bible  ;  and  they  will  all  be  remembered  as  shining 


LOUIS    LEGRAND   NOBLE.  207 

lights,  each  one  a  blessing  in  the  community  where  he 
resided. 

The  familiar  letters  which  these  men  have  written  to  me 
during  the  last  forty  years  are  very  numerous,  and  chiefly 
associated  with  literature  and  art,  the  works  of  nature  and 
religion.  Indeed,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that,  under  the 
title  of  "  My  Seven  Friends,"  I  could  publish  a  very  valu 
able  and  delightful  volume,  composed  of  their  correspond 
ence,  as  they  were  and  are  all  men  of  genius  and  high  cul 
ture.  The  names  of  these  goodly  friends  are :  Louis  L. 
Noble  ;  John  S.  Kedney,  author,  and  professor  at  Fari- 
bault,  Minn.  ;  A.  Frank  Olmstead,  clergyman  at  Hyde 
Park,  N.  Y.  ;  A.  Beach  Carter,  clergyman  in  New  York 
City  ;  Johannes  A.  Oertel,  artist,  and  clergyman  of  North 
Carolina ;  John  II.  C.  Boute,  clergyman,  and  secretary  of 
the  University  of  California ;  and  Octavius  Perenchief , 
who  died  at  Bridgeport,  Penn.,  in  April,  1877. 

I  first  met  Mr.  Noble  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1839, 
at  the  house  of  Park  Benjamin,  when  he  was  a  student  at 
the  General  Theological  Seminary,  and  I  a  Pearl  Street 
clerk.  As  he  had  spent  a  part  of  his  boyhood  in  the  wilds 
of  my  native  State,  Michigan  (although  born  in  New  York, 
in  1812),  we  became  intimate  from  the  start.  I  frequently 
visited  him  at  the  seminary,  where  I  formed  the  acquaint 
ance  of  his  fellow-students,  Kedney  and  Olmstead ;  and 
the  night  discussions,  sustained  by  moderate  feasting, 
which  we  were  wont  to  enjoy,  did  much  to  direct  me  into 
the  path  of  literature,  which  I  have  since  pursued  in  spite 
of  my  want  of  a  college  education.  In  one  of  his  first 
letters,  written  to  me  from  the  seminary  to  Pearl  Street, 
he  said :  "  We  drink  cocoa  Friday  eve,  at  nine  of  the  time- 
teller.  Do  come  and  drink  with  us.  You  are  the  only 
one  in  Babylon  who  could  be  admitted  to  come." 


208  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

After  his  admission  to  orders,  he  was  settled  over  par 
ishes  in  Albany,  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C.,  Catskill,  Chicago, 
Glen's  Falls,  Fredonia,  and  Hudson  City,  N.  J.,  after 
which  he  became  a  professor  of  English  literature  at  St. 
Stephen's  College,  Ann  an  dale,  New  York.  He  was  born  a 
poet,  and  when  he  began  to  publish  in  the  magazines,  and 
especially  in  the  old  "American  Monthly,"  I  prophesied 
for  him,  in  one  of  my  earliest  essays,  a  very  brilliant 
career ;  but  devotion  to  his  sacred  profession,  and  a  per 
verse  habit  of  pruning  his  writings  to  excess,  combined 
to  prevent  him,  in  my  opinion,  from  attaining  the  position 
as  a  poet  which  he  deserved.  His  only  volume  of  verse, 
entitled  "The  Lady  Angeline,"  etc.,  was  published  in 
185G,  and,  although  abounding  in  beautiful  passages,  I 
think  it  will  be  found  that  several  of  the  poems  are  not  as 
perfect  in  their  revised  shape  as  when  originally  published. 
His  poems  of  "  Nimahmin,"  "  Pewatem,"  and  "Home "  will 
always  be  read  with  pleasure.  By  the  public  generally,  how 
ever,  he  is  better  known  as  a  prose  writer  ;  and  his  "  Life  of 
Thomas  Cole  "  and  "  After  Icebergs  with  a  Painter"  were 
both  successful  productions.  To  have  been  the  intimate 
friend  —  the  executor  and  biographer  —  of  Thomas  Cole, 
and  the  travelling  companion  of  Frederick  E.  Church,  aside 
from  all  other  considerations,  are  quite  sufficient  to  give 
him  a  lasting  reputation  among  men  of  culture.  His  love 
of  nature  was  a  kind  of  passion,  which  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  indulge  to  a  degree  uncommon  with  men  of  his 
profession  ;  and  one  of  the  pleasantest  summer  tours  that 
I  remember  was  made  with  him  into  the  wilds  of  Canada, 
when  we  were  accompanied  by  our  wives,  and  an  account  of 
which  he  published  in  The  Literary  World.  As  a  writer  of 
familiar  letters,  judging  from  the  large  number  that  I  have 
received,  I  think  him  uncommonly  brilliant.  They  illus- 


LOUIS    LEGRAND    NOBLE.  209 

t.rate  the  many  sides  of  his  character  in  a  most  charming 
manner ;  and  the  facility  with  which  he  runs  from  bathos 
to  pathos,  and  from  the  broadest  fun  to  the  higher  regions 
of  thought,  give  his  letters  an  unspeakable  charm.  In 
those  addressed  to  me  there  are,  of  course,  many  things 
which  it  would  not  be  proper  for  me  to  publish ;  but  the 
following  disconnected  extracts  will  give  the  reader  an 
idea  of  my  friend's  qualities. 

The  first  letter  he  sent  me  after  his  arrival  in  North 
Carolina  contained  a  description  of  Harvey's  Neck,  in  No 
vember,  1840,  and  here  is  a  single  paragraph :  — 

u  Woods?  A  small  rhapsody  on  timber.  Eternal  and 
dark,  around  the  wide  prairie-plantations  do  they  stand; 
they  move  also  ;  and  yet,  when  they  have  trooped  it  around 
the  thousand  corn  and  cotton  acres,  all  the  dead  long  night 
with  the  wind,  they  stand  all  still  in  the  morning.  They 
have  a  character,  too.  They  roar  when  you  go  into  them, 
as  much  as  to  say,  '  Kneel,  mortal ! '  And  their  light  green, 
unfading  mistletoe  they  shake  in  your  eye  ;  their  moss, 
their  long,  long,  very  long  silvery  moss,  of  the  olden  time, 
they  skake  in  your  face.  Hast  seen  the  moss  of  a  South 
ern  dismal?  It  hangs  from  the  chins  of  the  kingly  trees 
like  beard  borrowed  from  the  departed  Cyclops,  or  from 
their  crests,  like  mane  from  a  stallion  behemoth.  Only 
think  of  a  deep  woodland,  all  dripping,  weeping !  and 
that  don't  express  it,  for  moss  is  neither  butter  nor  tears. 
Jupiter  may  have  poured  an  old  gray  cloud  down  upon 
them  ;  and  the  shreds  of  the  wrack  hang  on  the  woods, 
dripping  in  their  cloud-bath.  Glorious  old  woods  !  Yon 
der  comes  a  cypress.  He  moves  into  my  mind  like  the 
memory  of  a  mountain.  Old  Monarch  of  the  Dismal,  why, 
he  was  born  in  the  days  of  Cato  ;  he  roared  in  the  storms 

of  the  Caesars.     His  court  dress,  like  the  laws  of  the  Per- 
u 


210  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

sian,  alters  not.  It  is  made  of  the  rags  of  antiquity,  it  is 
so  gray  and  time-stained.  It  is  no  coat,  or  flowing  robe, 
but  scarfs  and  girdles  and  tresses  and  beard,  and  sashes 
as  gray  as  ashes  hanging  straight,  and  hanging  down  from 
finger-twig  and  crown.  He'll  stand  here  in  his  brandy- 
pond,  as  he  is,  if  they  '11  let  him,  till  the  final  fire  shall 
singe  him  naked ;  for  surely  the  tempest  will  never  strip 
him  of  a  ribbon.  And  see  !  the  courtier  underwood  trees 
are  in  livery  in  the  same  antediluvian  fabric." 

On  another  occasion,  after  mentioning  the  fact  that  he 
had  just  received  letters  from  his  heart-friends,  Olmstead, 
Kedney,  and  myself,  he  thus  exclaims  :  — 

' '  Heaven's  softest,  holiest  blessings  fall  like  dew  upon  ye, 
dear,  dear  boys,  as  ye  are  in  very  deed,  and  I  hope  will  be 
forever.  Yes,  I  pray  that  ye  may  flourish  pure  and  beauti 
ful  in  mind  and  feeling,  as  ye  have  been  created.  .  .  . 
We  are,  my  Charles,  in  the  movement  of  a  life  that  will 
brighten,  ay,  must  brighten,  until  the  smoky  air  of  this 
world  thins  away  into  the  atmosphere  of  realms  eternal ! 
Yes,  ever  so.  Gloria  Patri,  tt  Filio,  et  Spiritui  Sancto. 
Amen.  And  when  we  meet  in  that  higher  and  cloudless 
region,  where  not  even  so  sinless  and  evanescent  a  thing  as 
sleep  can  part  us,  oh,  how  will  we  live  together,  and  discourse 
of  time  as  of  a  shadowy,  last-night's  dream  !  Oh,  how  will 
we  live  and  love  together,  and  by  the  power  of  thought 
and  love  weave  combinations  of  bliss  out  of  the  rich  deeps 
of  eternity,  until  we  weep  (if  there  be  tears  in  heaven) 
with  ecstasy  ;  and  because  the  ecstasy  is  immortal !  " 

During  the  time  that  he  was  located  in  North  Carolina, 
Mr.  Noble  made  two  or  three  summer  visits  to  the  Cats- 
kill  Mountains  ;  and  in  one  of  his  letters  from  that  region, 
where  he  was  sojourning  with  Kedney  and  Olmstead,  he 
gives  this  glowing  description  :  — 


LOUTS    LEGRAND   NOBLE.  211 

u  We  are  just  from  High  Peak;  this  afternoon  we  got 
home.  We  left  our  long  room  here  yesterday,  at  half 
past  eight,  A.  M.  We  dined  just  below  the  peak  itself,  — 
say  fifteen  hundred  feet,  at  least,  from  the  summit ;  and 
cleared  up  that  suddenly,  you  may  be  sure,  after  we  had 
smoked  our  usual  cigar.  You  remember  our  smoke  under 
the  Perilous  Fall,  where  you  hurt  your  knee?  where  I 
bathed  in  the  fall  itself?  where  we  made  tea?  from  whence 
you  went  around  the  corner  of  the  cliff,  with  some  little 
fear?  and  then  went  up  the  Gray  Chasm — the  Devil's 
Chamber  —  and  then  got  up  a  wonderment  at  nature's 
stone  walls  and  cellars,  and  laughed  like  a  villain  at  my  up- 
slip,  come-down-slam?  Yon  remember  all,  then,  do  you, 
in  connection  with  that  memorable  dinner?  AVell,  after 
just  such  another,  we  toiled  our  way  up  to  that  splendid 
peak  of  the  Catskills.  Some  rare  climbing  we  had  of  it, 
I  tell  you.  When  nearly  up,  we  came  to  a  belt  of  gray 
rock,  which  was  more  than  our  match.  We  contented 
ourselves  with  getting  up  half-way,  and  backing  into  some 
deep,  narrow  caverns,  and  putting  our  faces  out  into  the 
clean,  deep-down  air,  for  the  sake  of  that  half-creation 
view  which  lay  beneath  and  before  us.  We  then  came 
meekly  down  again,  and  went  around  to  a  place  where 
thunder  and  lightning  usually  come  down,  I  guess;  and 
there  we  scrambled  up.  It  was  all  as  of  old,  away  up  in 
that  still,  solemn,  and  serene  world.  The  sound,  the 
almost  eternal  sound  of  winds  in  the  lofty  fir-tops,  above, 
around,  below  you,  like  the  murmur  of  the  surf,  went  on, 
as  if  we  had  never  been  away  or  had  never  come.  We 
flew  around,  at  first,  for  a  good  place  for  wood  and  water. 
We  encamped  near  there,  down  on  the  west  side  of  a  height, 
in  a  delightful  fir  grove.  Moss,  like  the  richest  carpet, 
covered  the  rock  upon  which  we  built  our  fir-bough  house. 


212  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

There  we  ate,  cracked  our  jokes,  and  smoked ;  talked  of 
our  own  dear  friends,  the  past  and  future,  life  and  death, 
poetry  and  immortality  ;  there  we  united  in  our  full,  rich 
service,  with  none  to  look  down  upon  us  but  the  solemn 
stars.  Once,  we  essayed  with  torch  to  ascend  the  sum 
mit  and  see  the  moon  rise,  but  we  had  to  go  back ; 
torches,  to  see  the  moon  rise  on  the  very  scalp-lock  of 
the  chief  of  all  the  Catskills,  were  not  the  thing.  You 
see,  the  fir  forest  makes  an  everlasting  night  up  there,  at 
any  time  ;  and  the  exceeding  chaos  of  the  surface,  although 
all  covered  with  a  living  carpet,  would  not  allow  of  our 
undertaking  by  torchlights  an  excursion  of  even  a  thou 
sand  feet  .  .  .  AVe  would  see  the  sun  rise,  at  any  rate. 
We  climbed  up  the  loftiest  of  those  steeple  trees,  the  fir, 
and  saw  all  creation.  You  should  have  been  there  to  wit 
ness  the  scene,  and  then  fainted,  and  have  fallen  down 
headlong  in  despair  of  ever  seeing  such  another.  To  the 
east,  it  was  a  calm,  summery  ocean  ;  to  the  west,  it  was  a 
Pacific  of  most  exquisite  mountains  ;  and  we  seemed  to 
be  in  the  very  centre  of  the  world,  with  a  boundless  pan 
orama  all  around  the  horizon." 

In  1843,  Mr.  Noble's  life  in  the  lowlands  of  North  Car 
olina  seemed  to  be  injuring  his  health,  and  in  a  letter, 
headed  "•  Durant's  Neck  Creation,"  occurs  this  great 
mixture  in  a  little  space  :  — 

"  I  am  going  to  quit  this  sickly  lowland.  It  is  killing 
my  youth.  O  Charley,  our  youth !  We  must  keep  it 
around  the  heart.  I  am  here  for  a  week.  This  is  a  point 
of  land  in  the  golden-watered,  golden-skied  Alb e marie.  I 
am  quite  alone  ;  the  wind  blows  ;  the  waves  rip  and  tear 
their  ruffled  shirts  all  to  rags.  I  have  just  come  in  from 
a  long  cedar  point.  It  is  a  camping  out  of  old  cedars. 
They  have  concluded  to  stay  there  to  all  eternity.  They 


LOUIS   LE(JRANl)   NOBLK.  213 

have  made  themselves  into  a  big  church,  and  hung  things 
with  long,  silvery,  solemn  moss.  Such  moss  !  clouds  of 
it,  down  the  green  houghs.  They  can  scarcely  breathe  or 
rustle  ;  it  holds  all  still,  while  Nature  goes  on  with  her 
ceaseless  grace  over  the  dew,  ever  sparkling  upon  the 
undying  green  below." 

In  July,  1843,  Mr.  Noble  left  the  sea-coast  of  North 
Carolina,  and  with  his  friends,  Kedney  and  Olmstead, 
risited  the  mountains  in  the  western  part  of  that  State  ; 
and  the  following  is  from  one  of  his  first  letters  from  that 
region,  which  he  subsequently  celebrated  in  his  poem 
entitled  u  Angelina,"  and  which  it  was  my  own  privilege 
to  visit  and  describe  about  five  years  afterwards  :  — 

"1  have  now  ridden  close  on  to  one  thousand  miles  in 
the  saddle  since  July.  You  have  no  idea  what  an  im 
mense  business  it  is  to  go  over  all  I  have  gone  over.  Day 
after  day  to  jog  on  in  a  weary  motion.  How  tired  and 
warm  you  get !  But  oh,  the  magnificence  of  these  green, 
rich  Alleghanies  !  For  weeks,  now,  have  we  been  wind 
ing  from  dark  and  shadowy  vale,  to  vale  dark  and  shad 
owy.  Now  we  walk  side  by  side.  Now  we  trot  cheerfully 
along  the  vine-curtained  banks  of  crystal  rivers  small ;  then 
we  toil  up  and  up  and  far,  far  up  among  the  trees,  '  the 
high,  airy- top  '  trees  of  heaviest,  glossiest  polish,  and  see 
through  the  boughs  the  big  earth,  blue  and  wide  as  the 
ocean,  mingling  with  clouds  and  sky.  Such,  and  a  thou 
sand  things  more  of  mountain  kind,  have  been  our  life 
so  long  that  I  wish  to  go  away  to  some  miserable,  sandy, 
sunny,  pine-barren  flat.  O  Charley !  you  should  go 
through  this  laud.  Here  the  solemn  cloud-heights  assem 
ble  in  one  still,  eternal  dance  upon  the  vast  plain  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi.  And  while  you  stretch 
to  the  dim  peaks  that  spectre  the  vast  airiness  be- 


214  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

yoncl  the  immense  circle,  of  which  your  summit  is  the 
centre,  the  eye  always  at  last  falls  into  the  line  of  march 
where  the  Blue  Ridge  goes  darkly  trooping  from  the 
countless  assembly  of  pinnacles  away,  away,  like  giant 
camels  with  their  load  of  thunder-bags,  to  other  zones. 
And  then,  too,  such  horrid  precipices  as  one  can  sicken 
himself  upon,  are  a  sight  rugged  and  rare  for  painter  and 
for  poet.  Sunny  vales,  too,  from  the  chamber  windows 
of  the  close  forests,  pour  upon  the  eye  big  hours  of  quiet 
beauty.  Shady,  whispery  waterfalls  lill  your  ears,  ever 
and  anon,  and  dipped  in  every  hour  of  the  day,  from 
dawn  to  golden  eve,  from  eve  to  blackest  night,  and  round 
to  dawn  again,  curtain  the  elders  of  the  multitude  ever 
more." 

In  the  latter  part  of  1844  I  took  it  upon  myself  to 
give  Mr.  Noble  some  of  my  ideas  on  the  growing  follies, 
if  not  evils,  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  the  tone  of  his 
reply  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  extract,  written 
from  Catskill :  — 

"Yours  is  a  good  letter,  you  incorrigible  little  Presby 
terian,  you.  If  you  had  some  one  to  guide  you  into  the 
claims  of  the  church,  you  would  inevitably  fall  into  all  its 
beauty  and  truth.  But  I  give  you  over.  Unless  you  will 
read  and  examine  our  standard  and  high  authorities  for 
yourself,  without  prejudice,  and  without  a  determination  to 
stick  to  men  because  you  happen  to  love  them,  you  will, 
of  course,  never  move  a  hair  from  where  you  are.  You 
are  making  a  mistake,  Charley,  all  unworthy  of  your  heart, 
saying  nothing  of  your  head.  That  yon,  with  your  appre 
ciation  of  truth  and  beauty,  should  be  content  to  settle 
down  behind  your  prejudices  and  not  be  luippy  to  follow 
truth  where  it  leads  you,  though  it  led  to  Rome  itself,  I 
could  not  have  dreamed.  But  amen.  Your  mind  will 


LOUIS  LEGRAND  NOBLE.  215 

only  be    the  sufferer  by  staying  in  the  barren  region  of 
dissent.     I  say,  Amen,  and/cW  a  little  mad." 

This  theological  breeze  lasted  through  several  letters, 
and  one  of  mv  good  friend's  last  onslaughts  was  to  this 
effect :  '•  You  know  nothing,  nothing  about  Puseyism.  Do 
not  join  the  hue  and  the  cry  of  the  many,  lest  you 
be  found  in  company  with  those  of  whom  you  may  1  e 
ashamed  one  day,  when  you  see  yourself  on  the  side 
opposite  to  splendid  genius,  learning,  and  holiness.  I 
know  deeply  some  of  Dr.  Pusey's  and  most  of  Mr.  New 
man's  writings.  We  shall  not  look  upon  more  wondrous 
pages,  very  soon,  than  those  of  Mr.  Newman.  Bishop 
Onderdonk  is  a  good  old  man.  He  has  been  imprudent, 
but  not  guilty.  The  church  will  yet  destroy  the  power  of 
your  popular  heresies.  You  may  live  to  see  it.  I  wish 
you  would  do  me  the  favor  to  read  Mr.  Newman's  '  Ser 
mons  '  and  the  '  Oxford  Tracts.'  The  first  especially. 
They  will  add  lustre  to  your  mind,  though  they  should 
settle  your  heresies  deeper  in  your  soul."  And  again  :  4-  If 
you  ever  expect  to  make  a  great  painter,  you  will  Irive  to 
renounce  your  crude,  new-born  dissent,  and  embrace  the 
old  church.  There  's  where  you  belong.  I  claim  you." 

When  the  above  was  written,  I  entertained  a  deep  and 
true  affection  for  the  Episcopal  church,  and  have  been  a 
communicant  therein  for  more  than  thirty  years  ;  but  I 
grieve  to  say  that,  since  it  has  partially  leagued  itself  with 
foreign  heresies,  I  have  frequently  been  tempted  to  bid 
farewell  to  all  its  goodness.  With  regard  to  Newman's 
"Parochial  Sermons,"  I  have  read  them  with  pleasure  and 
profit,  and  can  only  wonder  how  such  a  man  could  have 
wandered  from  his  earlier  beliefs. 

The  one  man  who  did  more  than  any  other  to  make  Noble 
a  rabid  churchman  was  the  then  Professor  Whittinghain, 


210  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  be  was  earnestly  engaged  in  that  line  of  business,  as 
a  bishop,  through  all  the  intervening  years. 

In  the  old  days  alluded  to  above,  I  used  to  write  a  good 
deal   about   the  artists  ;    and,  because  of  some   opinions 
thut  I  published  about  Thomas  Cole,   my  friend    Noble 
wrote  to  me  as  follows:   "You  do  Cole   real   injustice, 
lie  is  a  man  of  the  most  delicate  feelings  imaginable, — 
a  singular  man  in  many  things.     I  think  I  never  knew  so 
modest  a  man  in  my  life,   who  has  his  right  to  be  im 
modest.     He  moves  much  in  a  world  of  his  own ;  medi 
tates  sublime  things,  which,  once  in  a  while,  he  uncovers 
for  a  moment ;  looks  forward  to  some  great  picture  which 
will  live  in  after  ages,  but  which  there  is  not  love  of  art 
to  appreciate  now.     He  seems  not  at  all  pleased  by  usual 
newspaper  criticisms.     He  lias  his   faults,  I   know  ;    but 
they  are  as  little  understood  as  his  virtues.     As  to  his  not 
painting  a  great  picture,  you  will  see.     He  may  not  paint 
as  popularly  as  heretofore  ;  but  that  will  arise  from  his 
painting  above  the  popular  power  of  judging.     All  true 
genius  is  ever  beyond  the  eyes  and  the  minds  of  the  many. 
Cole,  if  he  never  touches  pencil  again,  cannot  cease  to  be 
what  he  is,  —  a  poet  of  a  very  sublime  cast.     I  know  him 
better  than  any  other  man.     I  do  flatter  myself  ;  and  I  do 
know  that  he  is  a  greater  painter,  to-day,  than  he  ever  was 
before.     You  will  all  see  this  to  be  the  truth.     I  am  only 
more  and  more   delighted   the  more   I  see  and  know  of 
him." 

1  was  never  one  whit  behind  Noble  in  my  admiration 
for  Cole,  as  a  man  and  an  artist;  and  his  "Life." 
from  the  pen  of  my  friend,  I  consider  a  very  charming 
volume  indeed,  highly  creditable  both  to  the  artist  and 
author. 

A  few  months  before  my  marriage,  in  1849,  Mr.  Noble 


LOUIS    LEGHAND    NOHLE.  217 

wrote  a  beautiful  letter  to  my  intended  wife,  and  about 
that  time  lie  sent  me  the  following  little  prayer,  which  he 
said  was  for  a  good  man  at  any  time  :  — 

"Father, 

Thy  Providential  finger  point  his  way, 
And  blessings  drop  with  each  returning  day  : 
Thy  pardon,  Lord,  for  Jesus'  sake  !  but  most, 
Give  him  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Amen." 

After  skipping  over  a  host  of  very  charming  letters, 
which  1  find  cannot  be  mutilated,  and  are  too  personal  in 
their  character,  I  submit  the  following  written  by  Mr. 
Noble  in  1852:  — 

44  Oh,  I  tell  you,  I  am  changing  about  things  of  time  as 
I  grow  old  !  It  may  be,  and  doubtless  is,  because  my 
ministry  has  forced  me  into  its  fields,  and  out  of  that 
alluring  field  of  poetic  letters  for  which  I  seemed  to  be 
made  almost.  Duties  have  carried  me  away  like  a  river 
stream  from  the  flowery  banks  of  my  inclinations.  They 
are  changing  me  into  something  else  than  what  I  should 
have  been  without  them.  It  will  no  doubt  be  my  joy,  my 
thankfullest  thoughts,  in  eternity.  How  religion  crucifies 
those  who  are  going  to  be  saved  !  How  it  makes  them  do 
what  they  secretly  do  not  want  to  do  !  How  it  makes  them 
give  up  poesy,  when  it  is  the  great  passion  of  the  soul ! 
How  it  separates  them  from  those  they  would  most  like  to 
live  by  and  labor  with  !  How  it  sets  them  down  among 
the  uncongenial,  and  makes  them  write  on  paper  if  they 
would  even  talk  to  those  whose  bosoms  beat  in  harmony  ! 
O  religion  !  O  crucifixion  of  man  !  Christ  himself  on 
the  cross  ;  man  on  the  crosses  of  religious  duty  ;  religious 
self-denials  !  .  .  .  But  you  cannot  imagine  how  the  pas- 


218  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

sion  for  writing  poems  never  dies  in  me.  The  more  I 
don't  write,  the  more  I  want  to.  I  have  the  most  com 
plete  faith  of  success,  should  I  turn  my  whole  soul  to  it. 
From  childhood  that  faith  has  grown.  I  never  feed  it.  I 
have  no  ambition  scarcely,  or  else  a  vast  ambition.  Can 
you  see  how  that  is?  I  can.  I  pray  to  God  to  give  me 
this,  —  yes,  this  is  the  gift  I  ask  for,  the  grandest  gift  of 
heaven,  —  perfect  conquest  over  myself.  How  I  hope  for 
old  age.  I  want  to  sail  into  that  antique  sea,  and  enjoy 
the  quiet  of  its  grand  and  solemn  scenery.  Ancient  forms 
are  there,  deep  waters,  calms,  shadows,  heavens  whose 
reflections  have,  in  the  depths  below,  some  substantiality 
about  them.  God  give  us  old  age,  with  its  own  views  of 
human  life  and  human  suffering." 

The  following,  taken  from  a  letter  written  at  Catskill, 
in  April,  1852,  is  charming  for  its  variety  :  "  The  clock  is 
beating  twelve,  and  Thedy  Cole  will  soon  come  into  his 
Latin  ;  then  comes  dinner ;  and  then  footsteps  forth 
among  my  parishioners.  My  measure  is  heaped  up,  daily, 
with  like  business.  So  let  it  be  till  I  die.  I  ask  not  to 
be  a  man  of  leisure.  I  can  afford  to  wrait  for  the  leisure 
of  heaven.  I  would  rather  be  a  saint  of  leisure  in  para 
dise,  than  a  gentleman  of  leisure  on  earth. 

"  Still  I  have  and  love  my  pleasures.  They  are  among 
my  books  and  in  nature  mainly.  Now  and  then  social,  as 
now  in  this  interchange  of  thought  with  you.  There  is,  I 
see,  a  strong  savor  of  egotism  in  the  talk  above.  I  low 
we  love  to  show  ourselves  !  I  now  see  why  I  always  ad 
mire  monkeys  and  peacocks.  In  their  antics  and  parade  I 
see  much  of  my  own  nature.  Here  comes  the  lad  of 
Latin  !  The  lad  of  Latin  has  gone.  So  has  the  day,  such 
a  day!  Such  days!  Yea,  such  weeks,  months  almost! 
Oh!  I  concentrate  a  hearty  groan  in  that  oh!  I  re- 


LOUIS    LEGKAND    NOBLE.  219 

peat  it,  oh  !  what  a  spring  !  Why,  sir,  the  allied  powers 
of  snow,  rain,  tempest,  cold,  tuid  clouds  have  met  the 
hosts  of  spring  on  the  Catskills,  and  are  having  fierce, 
hard  lights.  They  are  the  Waterloo  of  the  elements. 
This  hour  sees  them  the  scene  of  cold  white  winter.  Such 
have  they  been  since  last  year.  My  little  Mary  was  look 
ing  out  of  the  window  very  thoughtfully  the  other  day, 
when  she  said  to  her  mother,  '  Mother,  I  remember  there 
were  leaves  once  on  the  trees.'  Poor  child,  how  long  it 
seems  !  I  hope  '  spring  will  come  quickly  up  this  way.' 
I  am  tired  of  burying  people  in  the  storm.  Oh,  for  sun 
shine  !  Last  Saturday  was  a  day  escaped  from  paradise. 
I  rushed  out,  took  off  my  coat,  went  to  work  with  hoe, 
spade,  and  pruning  knife,  got  into  a  sweat,  got  completely 
tired  out,  and  preached  on  Sunday  (which  was  a  day  con 
victed  of  crime  and  put  in  a  prison  of  clouds,  judging 
from  its  gloom) ,  like  a  very  poor  preacher.  I  must  now, 
for  a  time,  turn  to  my  sermon.  Now  I  turn  from  that 
sermon,  in  which  I  have  been  laboring  to  say  much  in  lit 
tle.  That  is  hard  work,  you  know.  Little  in  much  is 
easy.  How  forcible  are  right  words  !  " 

Having  invited  Noble  to  go  with  me  upon  a  little  tour 
to  Lake  George,  he  thus  touched  upon  the  programme 
that  we  were  to  follow  :  "  And  now  about  that  delightful 
jaunt  up  to  Lake  George.  It  has  set  us  on  fire  ;  my  wife 
is  kindled.  Yes,  we  will  go,  Providence  giving  leave  and 
freedom.  .  .  .  We  will  stop  and  see  Kedney,  at  Saratoga, 
where  he  is  now  the  rector  of  the  church.  Won't  we  use 
him  up?  We  will  camp  out  in  his  parlor  and  fish  in  his 
cistern.  We  will  tap  his  vinegar,  and  eat  up  his  sour- 
crout.  Oh,  we  '11  have  a  season,  and  then  quit  him  for 
Hamilton's,  —  is  that  the  name  of  your  friend  on  the 
lake  ?  It 's  Alexander  Hamilton,  I  suppose.  He  has 


220  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

gone  into  the  dairy  business  up  there  since  he  wrote  Wash 
ington's  papers  all  up.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  him,  — 
Sandy  was  always  a  good  fellow.  .  .  .  But  if  we  are  well 
carried  and  companioned  on  our  way  by  good  angels, 
shall  we  not  have  a  nice  time?  We'll  have  some/«?i  too. 
We  '11  go  back  to  boy-and-girl  times.  No  harm  in  being 
children,  I  guess  ;  more  in  not  being.  Bag  me  up  that 
man  or  woman  for  the  Bosphorus,  right  straight  off,  who 
has  lost  out  of  life's  pockets  all  the  popcorn  of  child 
hood." 

In  one  of  his  letters,  written  from  Glen's  Falls  in  185G> 
and  when  in  one  of  his  more  serious  moods,  he  thus  ox- 
claims  :  ''The  world  narrows  as  we  grow  older,  socially, 
and  widens  as  a  place  of  pilgrimage  and  trouble  and  dis 
appointment.  I  imagine  the  rationale  of  this  is,  that  we 
carry  along  with  us  all  our  sad  recollections  and  the  re 
membrances  of  sorrow  and  suffering,  the  sense  of  injured 
feelings  and  wounded  pride.  But  our  life  speeds.  We  go. 
The  cars  of  life  fly  along  the  track !  By  faith  we  are 
getting  glimpses  now  and  then,  through  the  thinning  for 
ests  of  eternity.  Let  us,  let  us  live  like  men,  not  like 
fools,  as  the  crowd  are  living.  What  scenes  of  desperate 
folly  and  crime  are  now  being  enacted  in  our  country  ! 
My  God,  save  us  from  ourselves  !  A  war  flaming  and 
thundering  on  our  borders  seems  almost  the  only  thing  to 
save  us  from  the  sin  and  crime  and  fierceness  of  our 
selves  !  " 

From  a  letter  written  in  1857,  at  Fredonia,  I  cull  the 
following  :  "  I  am  truly  thankful  for  your  free  expression 
as  to  the  unprofitableness  of  my  artistic  and  poetic  tastes. 
They  have  been  the  evil  genius  of  my  life.  But  I  am  less 
in  the  ways  of  art  and  poesy  than  you  suppose,  and  far 
more  a  plain,  plodding  workman  in  the  field  of  God.  1 


LOUIS  LEGRAND  NOBLE.  221 

am  no  more,  practically,  a  poet ;  I  have  scarcely  written 
poetry  for  years.  I  shall  most  likely  write  no  more.  I 
read  a  litle  Spenser  and  Milton.  I  read  some  of  Spenser 
to  a  Buffalo  clergyman  the  other  evening,  '  Una  and  her 
Lamb,'  and  he  went  to  sleep  and  snored.  He  was  right. 
.  .  .  The  poetic,  artistic  life  is  behind  me  ;  a  more  simple 
work-life  is  around  and  before  me.  I  am  in  heart  for  the 
great  work  of  God,  —  over  which  I  have  nodded  as  the 
clergyman  did  over  the  poetry.  .  .  .  As  you  say,  in  your 
letter,  we  have  been  friends  nearly  twenty  years.  Long 
time  in  this  brief  and  changing  world.  Let  ns,  by  all 
means,  now  cherish  this  friendship  to  the  end.  Be  true  to 
each  other,  —  loving  to  the  last.  I  am,  I  trust,  wiser  and 
better  than  in  the  beginning  of  our  days.  And  so  are 
you.  We  cannot  well  afford  to  part,  at  this  advanced 
point  of  our  journey.  It  would  be  poor  economy." 

The  above  was  written  in  1857,  and  I  am  writing  this 
in  1(S(S2,  so  that  our  friendship  lasted  forty-four  years. 

Soon  after  the  war  for  the  Union  had  fairly  commenced 
in  180 1,  Mr.  Noble,  who  had  spent  so  many  happy  days 
in  the  South,  wrote  to  me  in  a  most  desponding  mood. 
On  one  occasion  he  says  :  4'  I  have  just  come  home  from 
the  baptism  of  a  dying  child.  Would  I  had  died  in  child 
hood  also.  Not  that  I  am  particularly  unhappy  ;  but  I 
would  rather  have  had  each  of  my  passing  years  in  heaven 
than  on  earth.  Who  would  go  back  for  the  few  straws  of 
happiness  that  have  dropped  upon  his  path?  Who  would 
reverse  his  life  and  walk  right  back  on  the  same  old  track, 
meeting  nothing  but  his  old  experience  until  he  tumbled 
into  his  cradle?  I  have  seen  about  enough  of  this,  my 
native  planet.  Hard  times  make  a  lean  salary  and  an 
anxious  spirit.  Let  me  go  forward." 

I  give  the  above  for  its  originality,  and  not  because  I 


222  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

sanction  any  such  unmanly  philosophy.  My  friend  here 
forgot  himself,  and,  as  I  probably  answered  at  the  time, 
no  honest  Christian  man  has  any  business  to  talk  after 
this  manner. 

] n  18(56  he  made  a  summer  tour  through  New  Bruns 
wick  and  Canada,  over  one  of  my  own  beaten  routes,  and 
this  was  his  first  report  on  reaching  home  :  "  Had  a  fine 
time.  Went  the  complete  round.  Came  out  on  the  St. 
Lawrence  at  Metis.  There  is  a  fine  road  now  from 
Frazer's,  along  the  Matapedia.  We  caught  salmon  and 
trout  in  the  Nepisiquit,  at  the  chain  of  rocks  and  the 
Grand  Falls.  Had  your  old  canoe-men, — the  Chamber 
lains.  They  all  remember  you,  —  said  you  wrere  a  splen 
did  fisherman.  To  throw  a  fly  for  salmon  well  is  the  art 
of  few  fishermen.  I  cannot  do  it.  We  came  home  by 
Quebec  and  the  White  Mountains.  Had  a  splendid  sun 
set  and  sunrise  on  Mount  Washington.  But,  after  all, 
you  must  have  had  the  best  of  it.  I  prefer  a  more  quiet 
life  than  the  one  we  have  had.  Black  flies,  rain,  leaky 
tents,  and  all  that ;  a  great  deal  of  rain.  That  kills 
one's  pleasure." 

In  18(17  he  wanted  me  to  make  him  a  visit  in  New  Jer 
sey,  and  this  was  his  way  of  tempting  me:  "Hold  a 
council  of  war ;  have  a  long  talk  ;  light  your  pipes  at 
your  weekwaum's  flame,  and  resolve.  Paint  up  your 
faces  ;  sing  your  big  war  song,  and  dance  your  most  com 
plicated  dance.  Shake  all  the  scalps  and  trophies  of  past 
conquests,  achieved  on  the  bloodless  path  of  travel,  and 
decide.  And  look  ye,  —  decide  on  a  visit  to  the  lodge  of 
this  Chemokeman,  with  your  squaw.  This  here  Ne-she- 
nam-bam  and  his  squaw  desire  to  minister  their  biggest 
bowl  of  succotash  to  their  brother  and  sister  of  the  Great 
Potomac." 


LOUTS    LEGRAND   NOBLE.  223 

Here  is  a  bit  of  nonsense,  bearing  upon  a  solemn 
truth  :  — 

"  I  do  not  know  what  to  say  more.  Suppose  I  write  a 
'  composition  '  on  nails.  Nails  are  good.  You  c:m  hang 
up  smoked  beef  on  nails.  They  are  good  to  build  houses 
with.  They  put  them  in  the  heels  of  hoots.  We  could 
not  live  without  nails.  Some  people  have  long  nails,  and 
dig  into  their  heads  and  other  things.  I  once  got  a  nail 
into  my  foot.  A  woman  once  killed  a  man  with  a  nail, 
in  the  Bible.  He  was  a  general.  Therefore  nails  are 
good.  Look  over  the  papers.  I  '11  be  bound  if  nineteen 
twentieths  of  what  you  see  there  is  not  about  as  weighty 
as  this  nail  composition." 

In  18()S),  Mr.  Noble's  daughter  made  us  a  visit  in  George 
town.  She  was  a  beautiful,  bright,  and  good  girl,  and 
fond  of  a  little  gayety.  Fearing  that  she  was  going  to 
too  many  parties,  he  became  troubled,  and  wrote  a  savage 
letter  on  the  subject  of  fashionable  life,  from  which  I  copy 
the  following:  "But  a  round  of  nightly  routs  is  miser 
able.  All  nonsense,  this  perpetual  dancing  ;  and  all  wrong, 
these  fops  and  beaux.  A  man  needs  a  purse  as  long  as 
a  hose,  and  filled,  too,  with  money  to  keep  a  young  Miss 
Silly  in  rig  for  tomfool  flatterers.  We  know  there  is  not 
the  virtue  of  air  in  the  talk  and  praise  of  young  fellows. 
I  do  believe  women  are  half  idiots.  I  like  fun  and  frolic  ; 
but  just  look  at  the  solemn,  and  often  distressed  faces  of 
these  decorated  asses  while  dancing.  See  their  red  pig- 
visages,  as  they  whirl  in  waltzes  and  get  dizzy.  Bah ! 
No  wonder  the  nation  is  going  to  the  dogs,  when  fashion, 
folly,  and  extravagance  reign.  I  have  no  respect  for 
such  a  government  and  country  as  ours.  I  would  get 
out  of  it,  if  I  could,  and  live  in  Turkey  among  grave  peo 
ple.  Pretty  women  for  wives,  —  these  dancing  trollops. 


224  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

Nice  men  for  husbands,  —  these  whirling,  money-spending 
monkeys  !  Humbug  this  boasted  American  people.  Africa 
will  give  as  many  saints  to  heaven  as  the  United  States  of 
America.  Well,  I  mean  to  spend  my  days  in  abusing  such 
a  land,  and  will  find  a  deal  of  satisfaction  in  doing  it." 

In  1871,  Mr.  Noble  lost  his  lovely  daughter,  and  his  let 
ters  on  that  sad  event,  though  very  beautiful,  are  too  sacred 
to  submit  to  stranger  eyes.  He  had  lost  his  only  son 
many  years  before,  and  he  was  nearly  overwhelmed  by  his 
great  sorrow.  The  burden  of  his  prayer  was,  "  God  help 
us  home  to  heaven." 

As  time  passed  on,  my  friend  and  I  arranged  to  visit  the 
Centennial  Exhibition  together  in  187G,  but  we  were  dis 
appointed.  His  letters,  written  to  me  in  1877,  had  not 
the  snap  of  the  old  time  ;  and  the  feeling  seems  to  have 
settled  upon  our  souls  that  we  were  both  passing  into  the 
evening  of  our  lives.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  I  paid 
him  a  visit  at  Annandale,  N.  Y.,  with  my  wife  and  Jap 
anese  ward,  and  we  ran  over  again  the  story  of  our  lives, 
and  enjoyed  ourselves  as  only  men  can  who  appreciate  the 
beauties  of  this  world  and  hope  to  live  together  in  a  hap 
pier  world  in  the  presence  of  their  Redeemer. 

In  February,  1878,  he  communicated  to  me  the  sad  news 
that  his  wife  —  a  most  charming  Christian  lady  —  was 
ill ;  and  then  he  proceeds  :  "  I  should  be  delighted  to  have 
you  close  by  me.  We  are  of  those  who  never  grow  old  in 
spirit.  Just  as  young  and  as  frolicsome  as  ever.  We  are 
more,  because  we  carry  the  jovial  soul  into  the  shade  of 
life,  and  make  loud  merriment  on  those  slopes  of  time 
where  most  men  grow  sour  and  spiritless.  Thus  let  youth 
go  hand  in  hand  with  age  to  the  solemn  end."  Also,  in 
the  same  letter,  after  alluding  to  the  death  of  one  of 
my  own  friends,  he  says  :  — 


LOUIS   LEGRAND   NOBLE.  225 

"  I  am  sorry  that  you  have  lost  a  dear  friend  and  rela 
tive.  These  partings  of  company  with  the  dear  ones  are 
sad  for  those  who  still  linger  in  the  stormy  paths  of  earth. 
One  sorrows  to  find  the  count  grow  smaller  as  the  group 
toils  on.  Alone  we  go  down  into  the  sepulchre  ;  glo 
rious  if,  with  Peter,  we  find  the  raiment  of  our  Lord  to 
lie  down  upon." 

During  the  month  of  April,  Mrs.  Noble  was  taken  to 
New  York  City  and  went  through  the  trial  of  a  surgical 
operation.  In  a  note,  written  to  me  a  few  hours  after 
wards,  describing  what  had  happened  and  expressing  his 
anxious  hopes,  Mr.  Noble  says:  u  On  the  whole,  'life  is 
thorny '  for  man  or  woman.  Death  is  the  last  and  the 
long  thorn  that  pierces  quite  through.  After  that  no 
more  thorns.  What  a  strange  experience  is  this  human 
life  here  !  What  does  it  all  mean?  What  are  the  pur 
poses  of  God,  —  all  wise  and  all  good?  He  will  himself 
tell  by  and  by."  But  Mrs.  Noble  did  not  recover,  and  in 
one  of  her  husband's  subsequent  letters  he  wrote  these 
words:  *4  My  dear  wife's  remains  sleep  by  the  side  of 
Louis  and  Mary  in  the  graveyard  of  Catskill,  and  her 
spirit  is  in  the  blessed  rest  of  God,  rejoicing  in  eternal 
light.  .  .  .  All  has  been  to  me  like  wandering  through  a 
strange  dark  dream.  ...  I  am  out  in  a  driving  snow 
storm  and  very  poorly  clad." 

In  that  last  sentence,  we  see  the  evidences  of  a  broken 
heart ;  and  it  were  better,  for  many  reasons,  that  the  cur 
tain  should  now  fall  upon  the  life  of  my  long-loved  friend. 
He  subsequently  re-entered  the  pulpit,  was  settled  at 
Ionia,  in  Michigan,  the  region  where  he  had  spent  his  boy 
hood.  He  died,  at  that  place,  in  February,  1882,  and  was 
buried  by  the  side  of  his  wife  and  children  at  Catskill,  in 
the  shadow  of  the  mountains  he  so  dearly  loved. 
15 


22G  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 


WILLIAM   B.    SPRAGUE. 

A  GOOD  and  a  groat  man!  Born  in  1795,  and  died 
in  1870,  leaving  to  his  country  a  spotless  name.  His 
'k  Lectures  to  Young  People"  was  one  of  the  first  books 
that  led  me  to  think  of  the  importance  of  true  religion  ; 
Miul  from  the  year  1836  until  his  death,  I  followed  his 
splendid  career  with  interest,  and  ever  felt  for  him  a  sin 
cere  affection. 

In  1865,  for  some  reason  that  I  have  now  forgotten,  I 
sent  him  an  article  which  I  had  written  about  the  charming 
village  of  Stratford  in  Connecticut ;  and  the  following 
note  came  to  me  in  return  :  — 

ALBANY,  11  November,  1865. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  thank  you  for  your  kind  note,  and 
for  the  accompanying  very  interesting  sketch  of  Stratford, 
which  I  shall  add  to  a  pretty  large  collection  of  materials 
for  some  future  historian  of  our  country. 

I  am  gratified,  of  course,  by  your  kind  remembrances  of 
me,  and  especially  by  the  intimation  that  anything  I  have 
ever  said  or  written  has  been  of  the  least  service  to  you. 
I  take  it  for  granted  you  are  the  author  of  the  Congres 
sional  biographies,  and  until  this  time  I  supposed  you 
were  my  contemporary  in  college,  having  graduated  in 
1814  ;  but,  on  referring  to  your  letter  and  the  book,  1  find 
that  your  name  is  without  the  J.  which  belonged  to  the 
Mr.  Lanman  whom  I  knew.  He  was  from  Norwich,  and 
the  son  of  a  very  eminent  lawyer.  I  am,  my  dear  sir,  with 
great  regard, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

W.  B.  SPRAOUE. 


WILLIAM    B.    SPRAGUE.  227 

The  persons  here  alluded  to  were  my  father  and  grand 
father. 

The  collection  of  autographs  which  was  made  by  this 
eminent  man  was  peihaps  unsurpassed  liy  any  other  in  the 
country  ;  and  its  historical  value  was  probably  greatly 
enhanced  by  his  acquisitions  during  the  time  that  he  was 
writing  his  "Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit."  Ju  18G7 
he  made  an  appeal  to  me  to  help  him  in  filling  up  some 
gaps  in  his  "  List  of  Letters  by  Prominent  Politicians"; 
and  I  forthwith  forwarded  to  him  those  he  wanted,  when 
he  acknowledged  their  receipt  as  follows  :  — 

ALHANV,  1  July,  1807. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  the 
autograph  letter  of  Secretary  Browning,  as  well  as  the 
hope  which  your  kindness  awakens  that  you  may  possibly, 
at  some  future  time,  send  me  a  letter  of  the  attonicv- 
general.  From  what  you  say  of  having  been  in  a  Bible 
class  under  Mr.  Butler,  in  Dr.  Skinner's  church,  I  infer 
that  I  have  misjudged  in  supposing  that  you  were  identical 
with  the  person  of  your  name  who  was  one  year  before  me 
in  Yale  College.  I  doubt  not,  however,  that  you  are  of 
the  same  family  ;  and,  if  so,  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  several  of  your  relatives.  With  great  regard, 

I  am  very  truly  yours, 

W.  B.  SPRAGUE. 

These  are  mere  trifles,  I  know  ;  but  any  memento  of 
such  a  man  has  a  value  of  its  own  ;  and  this  paragraph 
will  not  have  been  written  in  vain  if  the  reader  (who  has 
not  seen  it)  will  only  obtain  and  read  the  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  "William  B.  Sprague  which  was  printed  in  the 
New  York  Observer,  by  the  devoted  friend  of  the  departed. 
S.  Iremjeus  Prime. 


228  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 


WILLIAM  JERDAN  AND  WASHINGTON  IRVING. 

ANY  event  that  has  a  tendency  to  recall  the  presence 
and  charming  character  of  Washington  Irving  ought  not 
to  be  unheeded  ;  and  the  death  of  William  Jerdan  is  par 
ticularly  suggestive  on  that  score.  The  latter  was  born 
in  Scotland,  in  1782,  one  year  before  the  former,  and 
died  in  London,  in  18G9,  aged  eighty-seven  years.  His 
career  of  thirty-five  years  as  editor  of  the  Literary  Gazette, 
his  long-continued  and  intimate  association  with  the  litera 
ture  of  England  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  his 
highly  interesting  autobiography,  are  quite  sufficient  to 
give  him  a  high  rank  among  the  men  of  the  time  ;  but  we 
Americans  must  always  venerate  his  memory  for  having 
been  the  first  to  introduce  the  papers  of  the  "  Sketch 
Book  "  to  the  public.  The  writer  of  this  notice  had  it  from 
Mr.  Irving's  own  lips,  that  such  was  the  case  ;  that  the 
idea  of  collecting  them  in  a  volume  came  from  the  same 
source,  and  that  he  always  remembered  the  editor  as  one 
of  his  earliest  and  best  friends.  And  here  is  what  he 
says  on  the  subject  in  the  revised  edition  of  the  "  Sketch 
Book  "  itself  :  — 

"  Some  attention  had  been  called  to  it  by  the  extracts 
which  had  previously  appeared  in  the  Literary  Gazette, 
and  by  the  kind  word  spoken  by  the  editor  of  that  periodi 
cal,  and  it  was  getting  into  fair  circulation  when  my 
worthy  bookseller  failed." 

In  a  note  to  Mr.  Jerdan  himself,  he  also  wrote  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

u  The  author  of  the  'Sketch  Book'  cannot  but  feel 
hiii'hlv  flattered  that  his  essavs  should  bo  deemed  worthy 
of  insertion  in  so  elegant  and  polite  a  miscellany  as  the 


WILLIAM   JERPAN    AND   WASHINGTON   IRVING.  220 

Literary  Gazette.  A  corrected  .and  modified  edition  of 
the  work  is  about  to  be  repnblished  in  this  country, 
which  he  barely  mentions,  and  leaves  it  to  the  more 
experienced  judgment  of  the  editor  to  determine  how 
far  the  extracts  may  be  made  without  anticipating  and 
injuring  the  collective  republication  of  the  work.  At 
the  same  time,  he  begs  leave  to  add  his  conviction,  that 
lie  could  not  have  had  a  1  letter  introduction  to  fashion 
able  notice  than  the  favorable  countenance  of  the  Literary 
Gazette." 

Jn  his  autobiography,  Mr.  Jerdan,  after  speaking  of 
Mr.  Irving  as  the  most  charming  of  American  authors, 
proceeds  as  follows  :  — 

"•  Such  things  belong  to  the  most  grateful  incidents  of 
my  literary  life.  No  doubt,  without  my  aid,  the  beautiful 
American  canoe  would  soon  have  been  safely  launched  on 
the  British  waters  ;  but,  as  it  was,  I  had  the  pleasure  and 
honor  to  launch  it  at  once,  fill  the  sails,  and  send  it  on  its 
prosperous  voyage.  I  never  enjoyed  so  much  of  I rv ing's 
society  as  I  wished  ;  but  have  had  the  gratification  of  see 
ing  him  at  my  table,  with  such  associates  as  the  Bulwers, 
Edward  and  Henry  II.  Ellis,  Moore,  and  others  of  the  same 
proud  literary  rank." 

Many  years  ago,  while  upon  a  salmon  expedition  through 
Northern  New  Brunswick,  I  stumbled  upon  a  very  interest- 
and  curious  character,  named  Robert  Egar,  whom  I  de 
scribed  at  the  time  as  "  The  Hermit  of  Aroostook."  lie 
was  the  brother-in-law  of  William  Jerdan,  who  had  mar 
ried  his  sister.  As  the  noted  editor  had  been  very  kind 
in  reviewing  one  or  two  volumes  from  my  pen,  I  sent  him 
a  copy  of  the  "  Hermit"  article,  with  inquiries  respecting 
some  other  matters ;  and,  in  due  time,  I  received  the  sub 
joined  letter :  — 


230  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

LONDON,  27  September,  1847. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  was  much  gratified  by  yours  of  the 
20th  of  July,  and  have  been  very  much  gratified  by  the 
perusal  of  your  new  book,  which  would  have  been  reviewed 
in  the  Gazette  three  weeks  ago,  but  for  my  having  gone 
into  a  continuation  of  k>  Papers  on  the  Red  Indian  Mythol 
ogy,"  and  wishing  yours  to  wind  up  with  eclat.  It  will 
appear  next  Saturday  or  Saturday  after. 

I  will  with  pleasure  negotiate  an  arrangement  with  a 
London  publisher  for  your  next  production.  I  hope  the 
notice  of  the  last  will  facilitate  that  process,  and  be  to 
your  advantage. 

A  friend  of  mine,  Mr.  (iranby  Calcraft,  has  been  ap 
pointed  II.  B.  M.  packet  agent  for  New  York  ;  and,  if 
you  will  call  upon  him  in  my  name,  I  am  sure  he  will 
expedite  any  intercourse  between  us.  I  shall  write  to 
him  by  the  same  post,  so  that  you  may  probably  see  him. 

I  shall  always  be  happy  to  hear  from  you. 

Robert  Egar  is  a  strange  bit  of  character,  and  I  hardly 
knew  what  had  become  of  him.  lie  once  bought  me  an 
allotment  of  land  in  New  Brunswick,  and  I  don't  know 
what  became  of  that ! 

1  shall  feel  much  obliged  by  anything  you  can  do  to  pro 
mote  the  Literary  Gazette  in  the  States,  and  will,  as  you 
say,  ';  reciprocate"  in  the  cause  of  the  Express. 

Assuring  you  of  my  kind  regards,  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

Yours  faithfully, 

"NV.  JERDAN. 

From  the  above  note,  my  good  friends  of  the  Express 
will  perceive  that,  in  the  good  old  times  when  I  was 
connected  with  their  office,  very  many  years  ago,  I  was 


JOHN    11OWAH1)    I'AYNE.  2,31 

not  unmindful  of  their  interests.  And  what  wonderful 
changes  have  taken  place  in  New  York  during  that  period  ! 
Its  noble  citizens,  who  laid  deep  and  broad  the  foundations 
of  its  prosperity,  have  passed  away  by  the  hundred  ;  and 
the  story  of  its  success,  as  a  commercial  mart,  is  allied  to 
those  visionary  tales  of  industry  and  opulence  which  have 
come  to  us  from  the  far  East.  The  manner  in  which  thu 
city  of  New  York  has  fostered  the  fourth  estate  must 
ever  be  remembered  with  peculiar  satisfaction ;  and  the 
Gothamite  of  to-day  may  point  to  the  Express,  the  Even 
ing  Post,  the  Journal  of  Commerce,  the  Herald,  the  Com 
mercial  Advertiser,  the  Tribune,  and  the  Times,  in  spite 
of  their  multifarious  and  useless  politics,  and  safely  assert 
that  no  other  seven  journals  in  the  world  have  exerted 
such  a  widespread  influence  throughout  all  its  borders. 
If,  however,  we  were  called  upon  to  mention  the  one 
particular  man  who,  by  his  pen,  has  done  more  than  all 
others  to  give  New  York  its  brilliant  reputation,  we  should 
be  compelled,  and  all  men  would  acquiesce,  to  write  the 
name  of  Washington  Irving. 


JOHN   HOWARD   TAYNE. 

WHEN  the  poet  of  "Sweet  Home"  was  sojourning  in 
Washington,  after  his  recall  as  consul-general  to  Tunis, 
and  before  his  reappointment  to  the  same  position,  it  was 
my  privilege  to  see  him  frequently.  lie  had  been  badly 
treated  by  Mr.  Marcy  and  Mr.  Clayton,  both  of  whom 
had  promised  their  influence  for  his  reinstatement ;  and  it 
remained  for  Mr.  Webster,  in  1851,  to  recognize  his  high 
character,  and  secure  his  return  to  Tunis.  The  eras  of 
his  strange  life,  upon  which  I  mostly  desired  to  hear  him 


232  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

converse,  were  those  connected  with  his  "boyhood's  home," 
where  his  father  had  been  a  schoolmaster,  at  East  Hamp 
ton,  Long  Island,  and  his  adventures  among  the  Indians 
of  North  Carolina.  For  the  former  place  he  manifested 
the  warmest  affection,  but  he  left  it  while  yet  a  mere  child 
and  returned  to  New  York  City,  where  he  was  born.  One 
incident  connected  with  his  life,  which,  I  believe,  has 
never  been  published,  was  to  this  effect :  He  went  to  the 
South,  in  a  semi-official  capacity,  when  there  was  much 
excitement  in  regard  to  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees,  and 
as  might  have  been  expected,  he  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  Indians,  so  far,  at  least,  as  his  sympathies  could 
go.  The  result  was,  that  he  gave  great  offence  to  a 
squad  of  roaming  "  Georgia  crackers,"  who  had  declared 
their  hostility  to  the  Indians.  They  arrested  him,  and 
kept  him  for  several  days  as  a  prisoner  ;  and,  one  night, 
when  housed  in  a  log-cabin,  they  held  a  carouse  and 
amused  themselves  by  singing  songs.  One  of  the  songs 
they  sanjr  was  "  Sweet  Home,"  and  when  thev  had  finished 

»,  *• 

it,  they  asked  the  prisoner  what  he  thought  of  the 
music.  He  said,  in  reply,  that  when  he  wrote  that  song 
he  never  expected  to  hear  it  sung  under  such  peculiar 
circumstances.  The  "crackers"  were  astonished,  and 
seemed  inclined  to  doubt  his  words  ;  but  they  soon  be 
came  convinced  of  the  asserted  fact,  and  with  great 
gusto  applauded  the  unknown  poet,  and  forthwith  told 
him  that  he  was  a  free  man,  and  that  they  would  forever 
be  his  friends  through  thick  and  thin,  and  that  if  he 
should  happen  to  get  into  trouble,  he  might  count  upon 
their  sympathy  and  help. 

When  Mr.  Payne  was  last  in  Washington,  I  was  a  fre 
quent  writer  for  the  National  Intelligencer,  and  that  fact 
will  explain  the  following  letter  which  I  received  :  — 


JOHN    HOWARD    PAYNE.  I': I.", 

WASHINGTON,  Jan.  26,  1850. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Enclosed  are  the  lines  which  I  spoke 
of,  with  a  rough  caption,  which  your  genius  may  lick  into 
presentable  shape.  It  is  essential  that  it  appear  as 
editorial.  Miss  Lynch  was  in  a  great  hurry  when  she 
gave  me  the  paper,  and  she  made  one  or  two  corrections. 
She  desired  me  to  examine  the  lines  and  the  proof  care 
fully,  and  to  see  to  the  pointing  and  any  further  blunders 
which  she  might  have  overlooked.  I  am  uncertain  about 
the  line, 

"  My  tomb!  then  from  its  door  erelong," 
whether 

"  My  tomb !  irhen  from  its  door  erelong," 

has  not  been  intended.     I  leave  this  to  your  sagacity. 

Will  yon  have  the  goodness,  when  the  piece  appears,  to 
send  me  one  copy,  and  six  to  Miss  Lynch  ;  for  all  of  which 
I  will  pay  you  when  we  meet,  which  I  hope  may  be 
speedily?  Yours  most  truly, 

JOHN  HOWARD  PAYNE. 

The  subject  of  the  poem  here  mentioned  had  entirely 
escaped  my  memory  ;  but  I  subsequently  heard  from  Mrs. 
Anna  C.  L.  Botta  that  it  was  entitled  '•  Nightfall  in  Hun 
gary,"  and  was  published  in  1851  instead  of  1850.  The 
interest  manifested  by  Mr.  Payne  for  Miss  Lynch  was  in 
teresting,  and  for  one  reason  seemed  to  me  especially 
well  deserved.  I  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  this 
lady  during  my  residence  in  New  York,  and  a  note  which 
she  sent  to  me,  in  1847,  was  to  this  effect :  — 

SUNDAY  MORN. 

Mr.  Lanman,  —  Will  you  announce  through  the  Express 
and  Post,  to-morrow  morning,  that  Mr.  Giles's  lecture 


234  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

takes  place  in  the  evening?  His  first  lecture  was  really 
admirable.  I  regretted  that  you  were  not  there  to  hear  it 
There  were  not  many  there,  and  he  really  should  have  a 
hearing,  which  is  all  he  requires  to  be  appreciated.  You 
editors,  who  have  the  important  mission  of  telling  the 
public  what  to  like  and  what  not  to,  must  do  your  duty. 
Excuse  this  liberty.  I  hope  to  see  you  next  Saturday 
evening.  I  expect  some  pleasant  people  here. 

ANNE  C.  LYNCH. 

The  lectures  delivered  by  Mr.  Giles,  in  New  York  (if  I 
may  wander  out  of  my  way  a  little) ,  were  truly  admirable  ; 
but  one  that  he  had  previously  delivered  in  St.  Louis,  for 
my  special  benefit,  was  beyond  all  praise,  and  this  was  the 
way  it  happened  :  It  was  in  1840,  and  while  on  my  way  to 
the  Upper  Mississippi,  I  had  made  a  halt  at  the  Planters' 
Hotel  in  St.  Louis.  It  was  Sunday  evening,  and  near  the 
hotel  stood  a  church,  into  which  I  strolled  to  hear  a  ser 
mon.  The  preacher  was  Henry  Giles,  and  having  caught 
my  eye,  when  he  stepped  down  from  the  pulpit,  he  came 
forward  to  speak  to  me,  introduced  me  to  some  pleasant 
ladies,  who  had  accompanied  him  to  church,  and  then 
went  with  me  to  the  hotel.  Over  a  glass  of  wine  we 
commenced  a  quiet  conversation,  which  was  soon  con 
ducted  entirely  by  himself  ;  and  then  was  delivered  the 
lecture  already  mentioned.  It  was  on  every  possible  topic, 
from  the  religion  of  the  Bible  to  those  of  Mahomet  a;ul 
Joe  Smith,  and  from  the  poetry  of  Shakespeare  down  to 
that  of  George  P.  Morris,  and  lasted  until  near  daybreak, 
and,  taken  as  a  whole,  was  the  most  wonderful  talk  I  ever 
enjoyed. 

But  to  return  to  my  poet  friend. 

Mr.  Payne's  style  of  conversation  was  less  weird  and 


JOHN  HOWARD  PAYNE.  235 

fascinating  than  that  of  Mr.  Giles,  but  it  was  delightful 
and  instructive.  Sonic  additional  facts  hearing  on  his 
own  life,  which  I  reineinher,  were  as  follows  :  That  when 
a  clerk  in  his  native  city,  and  only  thirteen  years  of  age, 
he  wrote  for  the  papers,  and  conceived  the  idea  of  editing 
a  literary  journal,  which  was  partially  successful ;  that  his 
reception  as  an  actor  in  New  York  was  simply  astounding 
to  himself  and  friends,  hut  that  the  people  of  Huston 
were  even  more  enthusiastic  ;  that  he  was  only  twenty 
years  of  age  when  he  went  to  seek  his  fortune  in  Europe 
as  a  tragedian  in  1813  ;  that  his  tragedy  of  u  Brutus"  was 
written  for  Edmund  Koan,  and  produced  in  London  in 
1818  ;  that  while  this  play  really  saved  Drury  Lane  Theatre 
from  a  collapse,  the  amount  of  his  compensation  from  that 
source  was  less  than  one  thousand  dollars  ;  that  Charles 
Lamb  was  not  only  one  of  his  best  friends,  while  in 
London,  but  frequently  sent  him  a  spicy  letter,  in  one  of 
which  he  said  that  his  booksellers  were  constantly  cheat 
ing  him  ;  that  while  other  actors  were  making  money  in 
London,  he  was  on  the  borders  of  starvation  ;  that  for  a 
book  he  wrote  on  "•  The  Neglected  Geniuses  of  America," 
he  could  never  obtain  a  publisher;  that  the  song  of 
u  Sweet  Home"  was  suggested  to  him  by  an  air  which 
he  had  heard  from  the  lips  of  an  Italian  peasant-girl ; 
that  it  had  always  seemed  a  great  mystery  to  him  that 
while  he  had  done  all  he  could  to  make  pleasant  th-.» 
homes  of  other  people,  he  had  never  been  able  to  have 
a  home  for  himself  ;  that  it  had  always  been  a  source 
of  gratification  to  him,  that  such  men  as  Edmund  Kean, 
Charles  Kemble,  Edwin  Forrest,  and  J.  "\V.  "Wallack 
had  all  represented  some  of  his  characters  on  the  stage  ; 
and  that  no  man  had  ever  been  blessed  with  better  or 
more  devoted  friends.  And  here,  for  the  benefit  of  those 


236  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

who  can  appreciate  an  incident  which  seems  almost  unique 
in  its  pathos,  I  submit  the  following :  One  winter  night 
in  London,  Payne  was  without  money  or  credit,  had 
not  where  to  lay  his  head.  He  tried  to  quiet  the  pangs 
of  hunger  and  homelessness  by  looking  in  at  the  win 
dows,  and  from  the  areas  scenting  good  cheer.  It  was 
Christmas  eve,  the  snow  fell  fast,  the  wind  was  sharp 
and  keen.  At  one  luxurious  house  the  hungry  man 
stopped  and  watched  the  lighting  of  the  Christmas  tree. 
Its  candles  streamed  brightly  on  the  pavement,  and  among 
the  evergreens  he  could  see  the  red  berries  of  holly,  the 
toys  and  garlands,  and  the  pretty  heads  of  children. 
They  danced  and  clapped  their  hands  while  the  presents 
were  being  distributed,  and  the  air  rang  with  shouts 
of  laughter  and  screams  of  delight.  When  the  merri 
ment  had  spent  itself  a  little,  one  young  girl  went  to 
the  piano  and  warbled  "•  Sweet  Home,"  while  the  family 
joined  in  a  rousing  chorus.  And  what  a  story  !  John 
Howard  Payne  —  "Home,  Sweet  Home" — not  a  penny 
in  the  world  —  a  lonely  grave  overlooking  the  •ruins 
of  Carthage  —  a  death  journey  of  several  thousand  miles 
—  and  a  monument  in  the  metropolis  of  his  native 
land  ! 

It  was  Daniel  Webster  who  sent  Payne  as  a  consul  to 
Tunis,  and  who  subsequently  appointed  R.  S.  Chilton  to  a 
clerkship  in  the  Department  of  State  ;  and  it  is  an  inter 
esting  incident  that  the  touching  words  which  were  for 
merly  on  the  tombstone  at  Tunis  were  written  by  Chiltou, 
and  were  as  follows  :  — 

"  Sure,  when  thy  gentle  spirit  fled 

To  realms  bryond  the  azure  dome, 
With  arms  outstretched,  God's  an^el  said, 
'Welcome  to  heaven's  Home,  Sweet  Home."* 


JOHN   HOWARD    PAYNE.  237 

Tn  188-2,  a  movement  was  made  by  William  W.  Cor 
coran,  for  the  removal  of  Payne's  remains  from  Tunis  to 
the  Oak  Hill  Cemetery  in  Washington  ;  and  an  account  of 
that  rare  act  of  kindness  I  have  recorded  in  an  unpub 
lished  biographical  sketch  of  Mr.  Corcoran.  The  follow 
ing  coincidence,  however,  may  be  mentioned  here  :  It  was 
an  air  that  Payne  heard  in  Italy  which  inspired  his  song  of 
u  Sweet  Home"  ;  and  it  was  the  music  of  this  song,  heard 
by  Mr.  Corcoran,  in  Washington,  which  suggested  the 
thought  of  having  the  remains  of  the  poet  removed  from 
Carthage  to  the  American  metropolis,  where,  with  special 
honors,  they  were  duly  deposited,  on  the  9th  of  June, 
1883.  That  the  motive  of  Mr.  Corcoran  was  creditable,  on 
the  score  of  liberality,  and  the  idea  poetical,  none  can  (Jeny. 
But  the  parade  which  attended  the  second  burial  was  out 
of  place  and  unfortunate.  The  manner  in  which  an  inju 
dicious  choir,  in  singing  the  song  of  "  Sweet  Home,"  sub 
stituted  for  the  original  music  some  insipid  variations 
of  their  own,  was  a  sickening  mistake  to  me,  and  threw 
a  shadow  over  all  the  proceedings.  The  two  beautiful 
thoughts,  mentioned  to  me  by  Mr.  Corcoran  himself,  that 
the  ashes  of  the  poet  were  to  find  a  final  resting-place 
under  a  beautiful  tree  in  his  native  land,  and  that  his 
famous  song  should  be  sung  over  his  grave,  to  the  dear 
old  tune  which  the  poet  loved,  were  both  ignored  by 
meddlesome  friends.  More  than  that,  what  should  have 
been  a  beautiful  commemoration,  was  marred  by  an  in 
appropriate  military  parade.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  know, 
however,  that  when  the  follies  of  this  occasion  are  for 
gotten,  the  people  will  be  glad  to  remember  Mr.  Corcoran's 
liberality,  the  funeral  oration  of  Mr.  Leigh  Robinson, 
and  the  commemorative  poem  written  by  the  author  of 
the  Tunis  epitaph,  and  from  which  I  quote  two  verses 


238  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

that  are  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  author  of  "  Sweet 
Home,"  as  follows  :  — 

"  Here,  where  his  own  loved  skies  o'erarch  the  spot, 

And  where  familiar  trees  their  branches  wave, 
Where  the  dear,  home-born  flowers  he  ne'er  forgot 

Shall  bloom  and  shed  their  dews  upon  his  grave. 
Will  not  the  wood-thrush,  pausing  in  her  flight, 

Carol  more  sweetly  o'er  this  place  of  rest? 
Here  linger  longest  in  the  fading  light 

Before  she  seeks  her  solitary  nest?  " 

It  was  the  poor  and  unhappy  Payne  who  wrote,  "Be  it 
ever  so  humble,  there  's  no  place  like  home  "  ;  and  I  have 
thought  that  if  he  could  have  had  a  voice  in  regard  to 
his  final  burial,  and  had  known  that  none  were  to  be 
admitted  to  the  ceremonies  excepting  those  who  were  in 
vited,  he  would  have  said,  "  Not  so  ;  no  matter  how  poor 
and  humble,  let  the  common  people  come  freely,  through 
the  iron  gates,  to  my  burial."  But  let  his  ashes  rest  in 
peace  ;  he  is  at  home  now,  and  the  windows  are  all  closed 
forevermore. 


EDWAKD   N.    KIRK. 

THE  unexpected  death,  in  Boston,  of  this  distinguished 
and  eloquent  clergyman  revived  in  my  mind  two  or  three 
recollections  which  are  worth  mentioning.  I  met  him  for 
the  first  time  in  the  good  old  days,  when  the  Mercer  Street 
Church  in  New  York  was  under  the  care  of  Thomas  II. 
Skinner.  I  was  a  member  of  that  congregation,  and  it 
was  there  that  Mr.  Kirk  preached  a  series  of  sermons 
which  attracted  immense  crowds,  exerted  a  very  remark- 


EDWARD   N.    KIRK.  239 

able  influence,  and  gave  him  a  position  in  the  front  ranka 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  as  an  orator.  His  dignity  and 
learning,  his  rare  command  of  language  and  power  of  il 
lustration,  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  his  sincer 
ity  placed  him  very  far  in  advance  of  the  great  herd  of 
the  so-called  revival  preachers  who  have  caught  the  public 
ear  in  later  days.  Some  of  the  stories  connected  with  his 
early  life  are  especially  interesting.  For  example,  when, 
in  1828,  he  was  suddenly  expelled  from  a  church  in  Al 
bany,  because  he  would  not  submit  to  the  dictation  of 
certain  rich  men,  and  when  he  henrd  that  a  part  of  the 
congregation  had  determined  to  stand  by  him  and  build  a 
new  church,  he  said,  "I  would  go  to  the  gates  of  hell 
wTith  such  a  band  of  followers."  At  a  later  period,  when 
settled  over  anofher  church,  his  popularity  was  so  great 
that  the  patroon  Van  Renssalaer  declared  that  Mr.  Kirk 
had  doubled  the  value  of  his  property  in  Albany.  After 
he  had  fairly  made  his  mark  as  a  revival  preacher,  he  be 
came  unpopular  with  the  reprobate  classes,  and  for  that 
reason,  and  because  the  steeple  of  his  church  was  rather 
queer  in  shape,  he  was  called  the  "  Pepper-box  preacher." 
And  one  of  the  stories  related  of  him,  connected  with  the 
cause  of  temperance,  was  this  :  He  had  met  a  man  on  a 
country  road,  who  was  going  home  in  a  state  of  gross  in 
toxication.  He  reasoned  with  the  poor  drunkard  in  such 
earnest  and  pathetic  terms  that  he  became  sober  under 
the  influence  of  his  feelings,  and  consented  to  fall  upon 
his  knees,  with  Mr.  Kirk,  in  ths  corner  of  a  fence,  while 
the  latter  uttered  an  earnest  prayer  for  restoration  of  the 
poor  man  to  a  happier  condition  in  life. 

By  way  of  illustrating  the  persuasive  character  of  his 
eloquence,  the  following  incident  may  be  related :  On 
one  occasion,  Mr.  Kirk  made  an  appeal  to  the  people  in 


240  HAPHAZARD  PERSONALITIES. 

behalf  of  some  benevolent  institution,  the  effect  of  which 
was  to  secure,  in  a  few  moments,  a  large  amount  of 
money.  Among  those  who  had  no  money  at  hand,  but 
who  had  been  deeply  impressed,  was  a  charming  lady  whom 
I  had  accompanied  to  church,  and  when  the  plate  reached 
our  pew,  my  astonishment  knew  no  bounds,  as  I  saw  IKT 
put  into  it  all  the  valuables  that  happened  to  be  on  her  per 
son.  I  remonstrated  with  her  for  her  folly,  but  she  was 
obdurate.  In  due  time,  howeTer,  she  reconsidered  the  mat 
ter,  and  on  the  next  day  permitted  her  father  to  redeem 
the  pledges  of  her  liberality,  which  he  was  only  too  glad 
to  do. 

The  effect  of  Mr.  Kirk's  eloquence  upon  my  mind  and 
feelings  was  probably  quite  as  great  as  upon  any  other 
person ;  and  I  am  thankful  that  even  the  third  of  a  cen 
tury  has  not  been  able  to  efface  it  from  my  memory.  My 
Sunday-school  days,  even  at  that  time,  were  linked  with  a 
more  remote  period  of  my  life,  but  I  took  a  class  in  the 
Mercer  Street  Church,  and  made  a  desperate  attempt  to 
teach  a  dozen  rosy  little  boys.  I  soon  found,  however, 
that  I  could  not  answer  one  half  of  their  innocent  but  ex 
ceedingly  wise  questions  (and  which  I  find  the  gret; 
divines  of  the  world  cannot  answer  to-day) ,  and  so  I  re 
signed  my  position  as  teacher  and  entered  the  Bible  class. 
The  man  at  whose  feet  I  now  sat  as  a  pupil  was  Benjamin 
F.  Butler,  the  Ex-Attorney-General  of  the  United  States, 
who  had  been  one  of  Mr.  Kirk's  supporters  in  Albany. 
He  was  very  amiable  and  gentlemanly  in  his  manners  ; 
and  when  I  subsequently  became  acquainted  with  his  his 
tory,  I  was  filled  with  amazement  that  such  a  man  should 
have  been  so  famous  a  politician.  Whatever  became  of 
the  young  people  who  listened  to  Mr.  Butler's  religious 
teachings  I  cannot  tell ;  but  at  the  time  in  question  there 


EDWARD    N.    KIRK.  241 

was  ft  young  man  in  his  law  office  who  was  talked  about 
a  great  deal,  and  who  became  a  famous  general,  killed  a 
fellow-being  in  cold  blood,  and, obtained  the  position  of 
minister  plenipotentiary. 

The  last  time  that  I  had  the  privilege  of  hearing  Mr. 
Kirk  preach  was  in  1852,  and  at  the  little  church  in  Dux- 
bury,  Mass.  He  had  been  invited  to  come  down  from 
Boston  for  that  purpose  ;  and  when  it  was  ascertained 
that  he  would  accept,  the  news  was  sent  to  Marshfield, 
and  at  the  appointed  time  Mr.  Webster,  and  all  the  friends 
who  were  there  visiting  him,  were  present  in  the  Duxbury 
church.  The  sermon,  to  quote  from  my  "  Private  Life  of 
Daniel  Webster,"  was  on  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  was 
distinguished  not  only  for  its  eloquence  but  for  its  argu 
ments.  It  dealt  in  nothing  but  pure  Bible  doctrines,  as 
understood  by  the  Orthodox  church.  Mr.  Webster  listened 
with  marked  attention  to  the  whole  discourse,  and,  after 
the  service  was  closed,  went  up  and  congratulated  the 
preacher.  On  our  return  home,  his  conversation  turned 
upon  the  sermon,  and  he  said  it  was  remarkable,  a  great 
effort.  He  said  the  arguments  adduced  were  unanswer 
able,  and  that  if  a  man  would  only  live  according  to  the 
lessons  of  such  preaching,  he  would  be  a  happy  man,  both  in 
this  world  and  the  world  to  come.  He  said,  moreover, 
"  There  is  not  a  single  sentiment  in  that  discourse  with 
which  I  do  not  fully  concur."  And  this  remark,  when 
appended,  as  it  ought  to  be,  to  the  sermon  when  hereafter 
published,  will  serve  to  convince  the  world  that  his  views 
of  religion  were  most  satisfactory.  During  the  whole  of 
our  drive  home,  he  conversed  upon  matters  contained  in 
or  suggested  by  the  discourse,  and  I  deeply  re'gret  that  I 
did  not  take  more  ample  notes  of  what  he  said  on  the 
occasion. 

16 


242  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

A  short  time  after  Mr.  Webster's  death,  I  wrote  Mr. 
Kirk  about  the  Duxbury  meeting,  giving  him  some  par 
ticulars,  and  asking  for  the  privilege  of  reading  the  ser 
mon  on  the  death  of  Webster  he  had  just  delivered  in  Bos 
ton,  and  which  I  thought  might  be  gratifying,  and  the 
following  reply  was  the  result :  — 

"Is  it  possible  I  had  the  privilege  of  proclaiming  the 
Gospel  to  that  noble  spirit  the  last  time  he  ever  heard  it 
from  the  pulpit  ?  I  should  like  at  some  time  to  say  some 
things  about  it  in  conversation,  which  are  not  worth  put 
ting  on  paper.  The  situation  was  full  of  temptation  to 
me.  I  never  so  revered  any  human  intellect.  I  never 
felt  so  conscious  of  my  own  intellectual  weakness  before 
any  human  hearer.  And  yet  I  felt  great  delight  in  com 
muning  with  such  a  mind  about  those  lofty  themes. 
For  months  had  Mr.  Webster  been  the  subjec-t  of  my 
prayer,  and  I  received  from  God  the  opportunitv  of 
preaching  to  him  as  a  favor ;  because  I  loved  him,  and 
knew  some  avenues  to  his  heart,  to  introduce  Christ's 
precious  Gospel  to  it. 

"  The  little  book  I  send  you  contains  the  sermon  on 
Prayer,  which  you  heard  in  Duxbury.  It  is  not  prepared 
for  the  press.  Therefore  I  commit  it  to  your  friendly 
care  and  literary  taste,  to  defend  it  at  least  from  a  shabby 
appearance  before  the  world.  The  other  sermon  I  send, 
as  you  request.  But  that  is  likewise  unfinished.  The 
closing  part  is  from  an  old  sermon.  The  other  part  was 
written  after  nine  o'clock  on  Saturday  evening,  and 
therefore  must  be  crude.  Webster's  death  was  not  my 
subject,  but  the  occasion  of  its  salvation  ;  and  it  made 
the  solemn  atmosphere  which  predisposed  the  audience  to 
a  very  favorable  reception  of  it. 

"  You  will  see,  in  the  close  of  the  sermon  on  Prayer, 


ELISHA    KENT   KANE.  243 

Mr.  Webster's  name.  It  was  striking  to  me  to  have  his 
name  on  the  face  of  my  sermon,  and  the  iiu;n  himself  be 
fore  me.  Of  course,  I  could  make,  on  that  occasion,  only 
the  most  vague  allusions  to  him.  But  my  scene  was 
that  of  '  the  reply  to  Hayne.'  Please  take  care  of  my 
poor  manuscripts.  They  are  a  clergyman's  stock  in 
trade. 
44  BOSTON,  Oct.  29,  1852. 

"  P.  S.  I  confess  to  an  enthusiasm,  that  has  reached 
the  weakness  of  envy,  when  I  thought  of  your  privilege  in 
enjoying  such  a  friendship.  Pardon  the  wrong." 

Mr.  Kirk,  who  honored  the  title  of  doctor  of  divinity, 
was  born  in  New  York,  graduated  at  Princeton,  was  the 
author  of  five  books  and  a  large  number  of  sermons  pub 
lished  in  pamphlet  form,  had  at  heart  for  many  years  the 
cause  of  the  Evangelical  Society,  was  for  a  time  a  regular 
preacher  in  the  city  of  Paris,  and  died  at  the  good  old  age 
of  seventv-two. 


ELISIIA   KENT   KANE. 

ELISHA  KENT  KANE  was  unquestionably  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  men  of  his  age.  Having  published  a  review 
or  synopsis  of  his  later  and  more  important  discoveries,*  I 
have  thought  that  a  few  particulars  about  the  man  himself, 
and  a  short  account  of  his  earlier  exploits,  might  be 
acceptable  to  my  readers.  \Vhat  little  I  have  to  say  is 
uttered  in  a  spirit  of  patriotic  satisfaction,  and  yet  I  can 
not  divest  myself  of  the  thought  that  our  Arctic  hero  lias 
gone  abroad  (this  was  written  while  the  doctor  was  still 

*  See  Evenings  in  my  Library. 


244  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

living)  for  the  restoration  of  his  health,  which  has  been 
pronounced  exceedingly  precarious.  Indeed  it  is  thought 
by  some  that  he  may  never  again  be  permitted  to  see  his 
native  land.  Such  a  fate  would  be  most  deeply  lamented, 
and  I  must  cherish  the  hope  that  he  will  not  only  return, 
but  live  to  spend  many  happy  and  peaceful  years  in  the 
land  where  his  name  has  become  a  much-loved  household 
word. 

Dr.  Kane  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  3d  of  Feb 
ruary,  1820,  and  graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  in  1843,  first  in  the  collegiate  and  subsequently  in 
the  medical  department ;  and  when  he  started  upon  his 
active  career  of  adventure  he  was  esteemed  a  good  classi 
cal  scholar  and  a  good  chemist,  mineralogist,  astronomer, 
and  surgeon.  His  frame,  even  from  boyhood,  was  deli 
cate  ;  and  with  a  view  of  strengthening  his  constitution, 
he  solicited  an  appointment  in  the  navy  as  surgeon,  and 
obtained  it,  and  was  attached  to  the  first  American  em 
bassy  to  China.  This  position  gave  him  opportunity  to 
explore  the  Philippine  Islands,  which  he  effected  mainly 
on  foot.  He  was  the  first  man  who  descended  into  the 
crater  of  Tael,  lowered  more  than  a  hundred  feet  by  a 
bamboo  rope  from  the  overhanging  cliff,  and,  clambering 
down  some  seven  hundred  more  through  the  scoria1,  lie 
made  a  topographical  sketch  of  the  interior  of  this  great 
volcano,  collected  a  bottle  of  sulphurous  acid  from  the 
very  mouth  of  the  crater ;  and,  although  lie  was  drawn  up 
almost  senseless,  he  brought  with  him  a  sketch  of  this 
hideous  cavern  and  the  wonders  whicli  it  contained.  Be 
fore  returning  home  from  this  remote  expedition,  he  had 
ascended  the  Himalayas  and  triangulated  Greece  on  foot; 
he  had  visited  Ceylon,  the  Upper  Nile,  and  all  the  myth- 
ologic  region  of  Egypt ;  traversing  the  route,  and  making 


ELISIIA    KENT    KANE.  245 

the  acquaintance  of  the  learned  Lepsius,  who  was  then 
prosecuting  his  archaeological  researches.  He  also  trav 
ersed  Greece  on  foot,  and  returned  to  the  United  States 
through  Europe.  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  was  again 
ordered  on  duty,  this  time  to  the  western  coast  of  Africa. 
He  now  attempted  to  visit  the  slave  marts  of  AVhydah  ; 
but,  having  taken  the  African  fever,  he  was  sent  home  in 
a  precarious  state  of  health.  He  recovered,  however,  and 
we  next  find  him  a  volunteer  in  the  Mexican  war.  His 
adventures  in  Mexico  proved  him  to  be  the  possessor  of 
lion-like  courage,  and  of  a  most  generous  and  noble  heart ; 
but  he  fell  a  victim  to  one  of  the  fevers  of  the  country, 
and  was  very  near  dying.  When  he  recovered  and  re 
turned,  he  was  employed  in  the  Coast  Survey  Department, 
from  which  he  was  transferred  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  to  the  post  of  surgeon  on  the  Grinnell  Arctic  expe 
dition.  His  history  of  that  expedition  gave  him  a  high 
position  as  an  author.  Not  yet  satisfied,  however,  he 
scarcely  gave  himself  time  to  recover  from  the  hardships 
of  that  cruise  before  he  set  on  foot  the  second  Grin 
nell  or  Kane  expedition  ;  the  results  of  which  have  been 
pronounced  by  the  highest  European  authorities  as  among 
the  wonders  of  the  present  century.  That  Dr.  Kane  has 
accomplished  much  for  the  honor  of  his  country  is  acknowl 
edged  by  all  men  of  all  parties  ;  and,  at  the  last  session  of 
Congress,  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  a  resolu 
tion  for  the  purchase  of  fifteen  thousand  copies  of  his 
valuable  work,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  having  inves 
tigated  the  whole  subject,  and  suggested  the  propriety  of 
passing  the  resolution.  That  resolution  is  now  before  the 
Senate,  and  we  are  pleased  to  learn  that,  in  spite  of  their 
ideas  of  retrenchment,  many  senators  think  Dr.  Kane's 
appeal  a  peculiar  one,  and  it  is  quite  probable  a  large  ma- 


246  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

jority  of  them  are  in  favor  of  the  resolution.*  Contrary  to 
an  opinion  that  we  have  seen  expressed,  we  are  glad  to  be 
able  to  state  that  very  much  the  largest  proportion  of  the 
profits  of  the  work  will  go  into  the  hands  of  the  explorer. 
When  we  remember  the  character  of  his  great  discoveries, 
and  the  fame  he  has  so  justly  acquired,  and  then  think  of 
him  worn  to  a  skeleton  by  diseases  contracted  while  heroic 
ally  serving  his  country  ;  yesterday,  as  it  were,  quitting  his 
home  to  find  health  in  England,  and  to-day  sailing  for  a  more 
genial  clime  in  the  same  pursuit,  —  we  cannot  but  believe 
that  it  would  rejoice  bis  heart,  and  do  much  towards  re 
storing  his  health,  to  learn  that  the  government  of  his 
country  had  recognized  his  services  in  some  substantial 
manner,  whereby  the  remainder  of  his  life  might  be  spent 
in  pleasantness  and  peace.  Numerous  learned  societies, 
says  a  contemporary,  and  the  whole  body  of  savants,  with 
Ilumboldt  at  their  head,  and  all  the  commercial  nations, 
with  the  English  admiralty  in  the  van,  have  loudly  de 
clared  their  generous  appreciation  of  Dr.  Kane's  labors, 
and  by  flattering  testimonials  have  sought  to  do  honor  to 
the  gallant  American  explorer. 

When  1  penned  the  foregoing,  the  heroic  Dr.  Kane 
was  on  his  way  from  England  to  Cuba  ;  and,  in  the  city 
of  Havana,  on  the  10th  of  February,  1857,  he  breathed 
his  last.  His  mother  was  with  him,  and  he  died  a  Chris 
tian.  The  Spanish  authorities  manifested  their  sorrow  by 
everv  suitable  demonstration,  and  his  remains  were  brought 
to  his  native  city,  through  the  (iulf  of  Mexico,  up  the 
Mississippi  and  Ohio  Rivers,  and  over  the  mountains; 
the  inhabitants  of  every  city  on  the  route  doing  all  in 

*  NOTE.  —The  book  resolution  did  not  pass,  but  another  was 
adopted  awarding  a  medal  to  the  explorer. 


ELISITA.   KENT  KANE.  247 

their  power  to  honor  his  memory.  His  remains  arrived  in 
Philadelphia  on  the  llth  of  March,  and  the  obsequies 
took  place  on  the  following  day.  The  entire  city  was  in 
mourning,  and  there  were  many  distinguished  men  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  who  participated  in  the  sad  cere 
mony. 

The  funeral  car  was  surmounted  by  a  canopy  and  dome. 
having  the  flags  of  England,  France,  Spain,  and  the 
United  States  at  the  corners.  The  prominent  gentlemen 
who  attended  it  as  pall-bearers  were,  of  course,  objects 
of  interest ;  but  no  persons  in  the  line  excited  more  gen 
eral  attention  than  the  surviving  comrades  of  Dr.  Kane, 
who  followed  immediately  after  the  remains  of  their  late 
commander,  bearing  among  them  the  weatherbeaten  Hag  of 
the  l' Advance." 

This  party  was  led  by  William  Morton,  a  name  which 
will  be  familiar  to  all  who  have  read  the  account  of  the 
last  Arctic  expedition,  under  the  command  of  the  lamented 
Kane.  Mr.  Morton  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  left  his 
native  land  at  a  very  early  age,  and  has  now  been  in 
America  about  seventeen  years.  He  first  became  ac 
quainted  with  Dr.  Kane  in  California,  and  after  one  voy 
age  to  the  Polar  Seas,  joined  the  Arctic  expedition  under 
the  doctor,  and  on  the  ill-fated  "  Advance."  Mr.  Morton 
was  the  one  who  volunteered  with  the  Esquimaux  boy  to 
go  north  in  search  of  the  open  sea ;  and  after  a  circui 
tous  and  fatiguing  route  of  three  hundred  miles,  dragging 
their  sledges  over  the  icebergs,  the  great  Polar  Sea  was 
discovered.  He  is  the  only  living  white  man  who  has 
ever  seen  the  great  open*  Polar  Sea,  whose  waters  wash 
the  icebergs  of  the  far-distant  north.  He  is  now  but 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  has  the  appearance  of  one 
who  could  well  undergo  the  fatigues  of  an  Arctic  winter. 


248  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

The  religious  services  took  place  at  the  Second  Pres 
byterian  Church.  They  wero  preceded  by  the  singing  of  a 
hymn  ;  and  the  prayer  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  C.  W. 
Shields,  after  which  the  remains  were  conveyed  to  Laurel 
Hill  for  interment. 

Shortly  after  my  review  was  printed,  and  just  before 
Dr.  Kane  took  his  departure  for  Europe,  I  was  honored 
and  much  gratified  by  receiving  a  handsomely  hound  auto 
graph  copy  of  the  "  Explorations,"  accompanied  by  the 
following  note :  — 

PHILADELPHIA,  Sept.  27, 1856. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  beg  that  you  will  accept  these  volumes 
simply  as  indications  of  my  personal  kind  feeling  and 
respect. 

The  obligations  under  which  your  able  pen  has  placed 
me  I  fully  acknowledge  ;  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  you 
will  give  me  an  opportunity  of  reciprocating  them. 

Very  truly  and  sincerely  yours, 

E.  K.  KANE. 

On  the  very  day  that  the  foregoing  letter  was  written, 
Mr.  George  W.  Childs  wrote  me  as  follows:  "Dr. 
Kane  has  just  returned  home,  and  is  completely  broken 
down  in  health.  He  says,  '  his  book,  poor  as  it  is, 
has  been  his  coffin.'  He  is  nervously  awaiting  your 
review,  and  will  write  you  after  he  has  seen  it.  He 
comes  in  this  morning  to  put  your  name  in  one  of  Ash- 
mead's  copies.  As  a  last  resort,  to  build  up  his  health, 
he  leaves  for  P^urope  in  a  week  or  two.  He  is  suffering 
from  scurvy." 

As  the  success  of  Dr.  Kane's  book  was  something 
remarkable,  even  for  these  days  of  remarkable  events, 


ELISI1A.   KKNT   KANE.  219 

the  following  letter  from  his  publishers,  addressed  to  the 
writer,  may  be  worth  printing  as  a  fragment  of  literary 
history  :  — 

PlIILADKLl'IIlA,  Oct.  14,  1S5G. 

J/}/  dear  Sir, —  Dr.  Kane  left  for  Europe  on  Saturday, 
and  we  hardly  expect  to  see  him  again,  as  his  health 
seems  almost  past  recovery.  Nothing  has  ever  given  him 
more  pleasure  than  your  kind  review.  He  spoke  of  it 
feelingly  the  last  night  he  spent  in  this  country  ;  he  only 
thought  you  had  given  him  too  much  credit.  Indeed, 
the  review  could  not  possibly  be  better,  and  will  be  of 
immense  influence  in  regard  to  the  reputation  and  sale  of 
the  work.  It  will  tone  the  press  everywhere.  AVe  ordered 
five  hundred  copies  of  the  Intelligencer;  and  the  review 
has  gone  to  all  the  Arctic  scholars  of  Europe,  and  will  be 
read  and  copied  everywhere. 

In  great  haste, 

Truly  your  obliged  friends, 

GUILDS  &  PETERSON. 

In  another  letter  which  Mr.  G.  "W.  Childs  sent  me,  he 
informed  me  that  Dr.  Kane  had  left  directions  that  one 
of  the  guns  which  he  had  used  in  the  Arctic  seas  should 
be  presented  to  me  ;  but  I  never  received  it,  which,  of 
course,  was  a  great  disappointment. 

In  another  letter,  alluding  to  a  notice  I  had  published 
in  London,  Mr.  Childs  wrote  me  as  follows  :  "  The  review 
in  the  Athenaeum  is  of  great  moment,  as  it  will  tone  a 
certain  portion  of  the  press  here."  On  the  21)  th  of  Sep 
tember  he  sent  me  the  following  :  — 

"  Your  kind  note  and  review  were  duly  received.  Dr. 
Kane  has  just  read  it,  and  is  exceedingly  gratified ;  he 


250  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

will  write  you  on  the  subject.  He  has  handed  me  a  letter^ 
which  he  wrote  you  before  reading  the  review.  I  will 
send  it  to-morrow,  together  with  your  autograph  copy  of 
his  work.  I  send  two  copies,  and  if  you  want  more  let 
me  know. 

"We  feel  deeply  indebted  for  your  great  kindness,  and 
hope  you  will  let  me  serve  you  in  some  way.  The  review 
is  all  and  even  more  than  we  could  possibly  expect. 
In  a  literary  point  of  view  it  is  excellent,  and  the  doctor 
thinks  you  have  given  him  too  much  credit. 

"Where  are  the  five  hundred  copies?  We  are  very 
much  in  want  of  them. 

"  With  many  thanks, 

"  Truly  your  friend, 

"GEORGE  W.  GUILDS." 


GEORGE   W.   BETIIUNE. 

IT  is  with  rare  pleasure,  indeed,  that  I  remember  the 
occasional  sermons  which  I  was  wont  to  hear  from  the 
lips  of  this  eloquent  divine  ;  but  it  was  not  my  good  for 
tune  to  know  him  personally.  I  record  the  circumstance 
with  thankfulness,  however,  that  he  recognized  my  friend 
ship  by  presenting  me  with  a  copy  of  his  published  ser 
mons  ;  and  when,  in  1847,  he  was  preparing  for  the  press 
a  second  edition  of  his  "Walton,"  he  requested  me  to 
furnish  him  with  a  paper  on  fly-fishing  in  America, 
but  which,  on  account  of  my  newspaper  duties  on  the 
New  York  Express  at  that  time,  I  could  not  prepare. 
Out  of  that  circumstance  grew  the  following  very  beauti 
ful  letter :  — 


GEOKGE    W.    liETHUNE.  251 

PHILADELPHIA,  March  30, 1847. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  note,  but 
am  truly  sorry  that  you  cannot  give  :i  paper  —  not  to  me, 
but  to  the  "  Walton."  The  truth  is,  I  am  very  modest 
as  an  angler,  but  have  exerted  myself  to  the  utmost 
in  the  literary  illustration  of  our  father's  delightful  book. 
As  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Duvcknick,  it  is  impossible  to  make 
9k  fishing  book,  especially  an  American  fishing  book,  of 
u  Walton."  Permit  me  also  to  say  that,  though  I  am 
far  from  being  ashamed  of  the  gentle  art,  I  do  not  wish 
to  have  my  name  formally  associated  with  the  book,  as 
it  will  not  appear  on  the  title-page  ;  and  whatever  com 
ments  are  made  on  the  American  edition  (particularly 
as  to  my  part  of  it),  I  should  like  them  confined  to 
the  literary  character.  You  will  understand  my  reason 
for  this. 

My  library  is  very  good ;  piscatorially,  the  best  in 
the  country  ;  and  my  notes  have  been  accumulating  for 
years. 

I  wish  very  much  to  get  a  few  papers  for  the  appendix, 
on  several  distinct  branches  of  angling  :  salmon  fishiny  in 
this  country  is  one  ;  striped  baxs  fishing  is  another  ;  blncfixh 
fixlthnj  deserves  a  paper,  short  but  to  the  point ;  any  hints 
upon  flies  would  be  acceptable.  Now  cannot  you  possibly, 
my  good  brother  of  the  rod,  do  something  on  one  or  other 
of  these  points? 

I  thank  you  for  your  kindness  in  sending  me  the  sheets 
of  your  new  work,  and  have  no  doubt,  from  the  peep  I 
took  into  them  at  dinner,  to  the  great  damage  of  the  mut 
ton,  that  I  shall  be  highly  delighted  with  them. 

A  copy  of  the  sermons  you  were  so  kind  as  to  speak  of 
is  sent,  with  my  compliments.  Permit  me  to  instance  that 


252  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES.        • 

on  "  The  Gospel  preached  to  the  Poor,"  as  an  attempt  to 
illustrate  the  republican  system  evangelically.  If  I  had 
by  me  a  copy  of  ''Fruits  of  the  Spirit,"  I  would  make 
bold  to  send  it  with  the  other,  as  my  better  work ;  but  my 
copies  are  all  gone. 

I  cannot  meet  you  at  Lake  George.  The  friend  who 
was  always  my  companion  there,  the  man  whom  I  loved 
best,  and  as  whom  I  can  never  love  man  again,  is  sleeping 
in  sacred  rest,  till  the  illustrious  morning  breaks.  He  is 
associated  with  every  nook  and  island  of  Lake  George, 
and  I  can  fi^h  there  no  more.  If  you  go  there,  let  me 
recommend  you  to  lodge  at  Hiding's  on  the  east  side  of 
the  lake,  just  below  the  Narrows,  where  the  bass  fishing, 
now  nowhere  very  good,  is  best. 

I  was  among  the  Thousand  Isles  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
last  summer.  When  you  visit  that  river,  go  by  all  means 
to  Alexandria  Bay,  and  enjoy  two  days  of  fishing,  one 
f or  pickerel  with  the  spoon.  Conroy  can  tell  you  what  it  is, 
and  the  fishermen  there  (Griffin,  though  a  sadly  profane 
dog,  is  the  best)  will  supply  you  ;  only  take  with  you  a 
couple  of  strong,  thick  trolling  hand-lines.  For  the  bass, 
another  day  will  hardly  suffice.  Use  for  them  a  fly  on  the 
ordinary-sized  lake  bass-hook,  made  with  scarlet  cloth, 
wings  and  body,  fastening  on  a  bit  of  forked  pickerel's 
tongue,  by  passing  through  the  hook  until  it  will  hang 
lightly  from  the  bend.  Play  it  among  the  rapid  currents, 
round  the  points  of  islands,  with  about  thirty  to  forty 
yards  of  silk  line,  from  a  twelve-foot  stiff  rod  ;  and  you 
will  say  that  even  trout  fishing  can  hardly  excel  it.  You 
are  no  doubt  aware  that  in  August  the  bass  run  close  to 
shore  on  rocky  bottom.  Perhaps  such  advice  to  you  is 
like  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle  ;  but  I  give  it  as  new  to 
myself  last  summer.  There  is  also  a  good  troutiug  ground 


GEOKCK    W.    BKTHUNE.  2«M 

at  the  head  of  Salmon  River,  Richfield,  Oswego  County, 
about  thirty  miles  from  Rome,  on  the  road  to  Ogdensburg. 
If  the  streams  are  well  up,  it  is  worth  a  visit. 

My  pen  has  run  on  in  the  quiet  midnight  until  it 
threatens  to  make  you  weary  ;  so,  thanking  you,  I  will 
only  add,  as  I  heard  an  old  preacher  once  bring  up  an 
interminably  long  sermon  of  his  by  saying,  finally,  and  to 
conclude,  I  will  say  no  more. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

GEORGE  "W.  BETHUNE. 

The  departed  friend  alluded  to  in  the  above  letter  was 
the  writer's  brother-in-law,  John  Williams  ;  and  a  more 
beautiful  tribute  to  a  good  man's  memory  is  not  often  met 
with.  The  piscatorial  library  which  Dr.  Bethune  collected 
and  cherished  numbered  about  seven  hundred  volumes, 
and  was  thought  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world ;  and  his 
edition  of  4fc  Walton"  is  conceded,  in  England,  to  be  the 
best  one  ever  issued,  so  far  as  the  notes  are  concerned. 
From  what  we  know  of  this  good  man,  we  gather  that  he 
followed  the  art  of  angling  because  of  his  intense  love  of 
nature,  and  with  a  view  of  fortifying  his  health  for  the 
sedentary  duties  of  his  sacred  profession.  Although  a 
genial  man,  and  fond  of  a  good  joke,  he  was  always  the 
true  Christian  gentleman,  and  seems  never  to  have  omitted 
any  opportunities  to  do  good.  A  noble  illustration  of  this 
fact  we  find  in  the  mission  church  which  he  originated  at 
Alexandria  Bay,  which  he  loved  to  speak  of  as  his  "pet 
child  of  the  Thousand  Islands,"  and  in  which  a  mural 
tablet  was  erected  to  his  memory,  by  lovin^  friends  who 

«.  «, 

had  there  heard  his  musical  voice  preaching  the  precious 
truths  of  the  Bible. 


254  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 


EMANUEL  LEUTZE. 

THOSE  of  us  who  knew  Leutze  in  the  full  vigor  of  man 
hood,  and  are  familiar  with  the  brilliant  creations  of  his 
brain,  find  it  difficult  to  realize  his  death.  He  died  on 
Saturday  last,  the  18th  hist.  (July,  1808) ,  in  a  room  which 
looked  out  upon  the  national  Capitol,  where  his  painting  of 
"  Westward  Ho  !"  is  a  leading  attraction;  and  the  only 
member  of  his  family  who  attended  his  death-bed  was  his 
youngest  daughter.  His  remains  were  deposited  on  Tues 
day  last  in  a  vault  in  Greenwood  Cemetery,  with  a  view 
to  their  ultimate  removal  to  some  other  locality.  My 
acquaintance  with  this  accomplished  man  commenced  in 
1851,  in  Washington  City,  where  it  was  my  privilege  to 
dine  with  him  at  Mr.  Webster's  table,  and  who,  by  the 
way,  entertained  a  very  high  opinion  of  the  artist.  The 
last  time  I  saw  him  was  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  near 
the  Treasury  Department.  While  we  were  chatting  to 
gether,  Walt  Whitman,  the  eccentric  writer,  passed  by ; 
and  I  remarked,  "Do  you  know  that  man?"  He  said 
no  ;  and  when  I  told  him  who  he  was,  he  replied,  "  Is  that 
so?  I  am  anxious  to  have  a  look  at  him,"  and,  excusing 
himself ,  hurried  off ;  and,  in  a  moment,  I  saw  him  adroitly 
scanning  the  features  of  the  author  as  they  both  passed 
into  the  department  building. 

The  business  which  called  him  to  Washington  in  1851 
was  to  look  after  the  exhibition  of  his  "  Washington  Cross 
ing  the  Delaware,"  and  to  paint  one  or  two  portraits  for 
Mr.  George  W.  Riggs,  who  afterward  ordered  for  his 
gallery  the  picture  of  "  The  Venetian  Maskers."  It  was 
then,  also,  that  he  received  orders  from  Mr.  W.  W.  Cor 
coran  for  two  of  the  best  pictures  in  his  gallery,  viz., 


EMAXUEL   LEUTZE.  255 

"  Milton  entertaining  Cromwell"  and  "  The  Amazon  and 
her  Children"  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  painted  for  the 
writer  of  this  letter  "A  Mounted  Pioneer,"  which  was  the 
original  of  the  leading  figure  in  the  national  painting  of 
"Westward  Ho!" 

At  the  time  in  question  I  asked  Mr.  Leutze  for  the 
leading  events  of  his  life,  partly  for  my  own  gratification 
and  partly  with  a  view  of  eventually  printing  them  ;  and, 
from  the  notes  then  taken,  I  submit,  with  a  few  later  facts, 
the  following  particulars  :  He  was  born  in  Gmund,  Wiir- 
temberg,  May  24,  1816  ;  and,  when  a  mere  child,  his 
parents  emigrated  to  this  country,  settling  in  Philadelphia. 
During  his  boyhood  he  bore  the  name  of  Emanuel  Gott- 
leib,  but  subsequently  abandoned  the  second  name.  In 
that  city  he  received  the  rudiments  of  a  good  education, 
and  acquired  the  preliminary  knowledge  of  an  art  which  he 
fancied  from  his  earliest  boyhood.  It  was  while  attend 
ing  at  the  bed  of  his  sick  father  that  he  first  began  to 
draw,  by  way  of  beguiling  his  leisure  moments.  In  his 
fifteenth  year  he  produced  a  portrait,  which  was  his  first 
effort  in  oil ;  and  his  first  composition  piece  was  the  figure 
of  an  Indian  contemplating  the  setting  sun,  which  won  for 
him  the  friendship  of  Edward  S.  Carey,  and  eventually 
resulted  in  his  illustrations  of  \he  poems  of  William  C. 
Bryant,  one  of  which,  "  The  Catterskill  Falls,"  is,  in  my 
opinion,  unsurpassed  for  its  exquisite  beauty  and  senti 
ment  among  the  productions  of  that  class.  In  1836  he 
visited  Washington,  under  orders  from  a  Philadelphia  pub 
lisher,  for  the  purpose  of  painting  portraits  of  certain  fa 
mous  men  ;  but,  as  the  project  failed,  he  bolted  for  the 
interior  of  Virginia,  where,  as  a  wandering  painter  of  por 
traits,  he  remained  until  1841.  In  the  early  part  of  that 
year,  assisted  by  his  friend  E.  L.  Carey,  he  went  to  Eu- 


256  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

rope,  studied  for  a  time  as  a  pupil  of  the  famous  Lessing, 
in  Dusseldorf ,  visited  the  most  celebrated  galleries  of  art 
between  London  and  Constantinople,  won  and  married  a 
German  wife,  and  finally  settled  down  to  hard  work  in 
Dusseldorf.  The  kindness  of  the  German  heart  to  stran 
gers,  and  especially  to  Americans,  and  the  German  blood 
in  his  veins,  naturally  caused  him  to  fraternize  with  the 
artists  and  people  of  Dusseldorf,  so  that  he  immediately 
felt  at  home  ;  and,  during  his  several  lengthened  sojourns 
in  Europe,  that  city  was  always  his  home.  With  the  types 
of  national  character  in  Europe  he  became  sufficiently 
well  acquainted  to  grapple  successfully  with  any  idea  that 
suggested  itself  to  his  mind ;  and  among  the  European 
subjects  which  he  depicted  with  rare  skill  and  power 
may  be  mentioned  the  following  :  "  Henry  VIII.  and  Anne 
Boleyn,"  "  The  Court  of  Queen  Elizabeth,"  "  The  Puritan 
and  his  Daughter,"  "The  Iconoclasts,"  "The  Amazon 
and  her  Children,"  "The  Image  Breaker,"  "Columbus 
before  the  Council  of  Salamanca,"  "Columbus  in  Chains," 
"Columbus  before  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  "John  Knox 
and  Queen  Mary,"  "  Landing  of  the  Northmen  in  America," 
"Cromwell  and  his  Daughter,"  "  Knight  of  Syme,"  "Fred 
erick  the  Great  entreating  his  Father's  Pardon,"  "Milton 
before  Cromwell,"  "  Raldigh  in  Prison,"  and  "Venetian 
Maskers,"  together  with  a  variety  of  purely  imaginative 
illustrations  of  the  poets.  Many  of  the  above  pictures 
were  purchased  by  patrons  of  art  in  this  country  ;  but, 
while  the  artist's  American  friends  were  pleased  to  know 
that  he  was  accomplishing  so  many  admirable  things  illus 
trative  of  European  history,  many  of  them  publicly  ex 
pressed  their  regret  that  lie  should  have  so  completely 
exiled  his  pencil  as  well  as  his  person  from  the  laud  where 
he  spent  his  boyhood. 


EMANUKL  LEUTZE.  257 

But  in  thus  ceiisuring  the  young  artist,  those  who  knew 
him  not  were  doing  him  a  wrong.  The  truth  was,  at  that 
very  period,  instead  of  forgetting  his  adopted  country, 
Leut/e  was  studying  almost  nothing  but  its  history  and 
characteristics,  animated  by  the  noble  and  the  single  hope 
that  he  would  yet  be  able  to  portray,  in  a  worthy  manner, 
upon  his  canvas,  some  of  the  more  splendid  events  of  its 
history.  After  making  two  or  three  prolonged  visits  to 
this  country,  he  finally  settled  in  New  York  in  1850,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  until  a  few  months  before  his  death, 
when  he  came  to  Washington  to  carry  out,  in  a  quiet  studio, 
certain  extensive  plans  in  regard  to  one  or  two  pictures  con 
nected  with  our  Pacific  possessions.  Several  years  before 
he  entered  upon  the  execution  of  his  American  pictures, 
he  identified  himself,  in  a  most  creditable  manner,  with 
the  history  of  South  America,  by  producing  his  "Attack 
on  the  Temple  of  the  Aztecs  by  Cortez."  Although,  when 
true  to  himself,  his  power  of  drawing  and  knowledge  of 
color  were  well-nigh  consummate,  he  had  one  great  difli- 
culty  to  contend  with,  which  was  the  want  of  a  type  of 
American  character,  especially  a  type  that  would  help  him 
to  delineate  the  men  whose  characters  were  moulded  by 
the  Revolution.  AVhile  all  the  more  prominent  countries 
of  the  world  were  old  enough  in  civilization  to  be  charac 
terized  by  a  type,  he  saw  that  the  United  States,  though 
marching  on  to  immense  power  and  greatness,  was  without 
this  symbol  of  distinction.  He  discovered  the  type  for 
which  he  was  seeking  in  a  peculiar  contraction  of  the  brow 
and  a  brilliant  eye,  and  a  mouth  which  denoted  indomita 
ble  perseverance,  industry,  energy,  and  fearlessness.  No 
sooner  had  he  made  this  discovery  than  it  appeared  to  him 
as  plain  as  a  solved  riddle.  This  type  was,  indeed,  the 
enigma  of  his  life,  and  absorbed  his  thoughts  for  a  period 
17 


258  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

of  six  years.  In  less  than  nine  months  after  his  mind  had 
settled  itself  upon  his  new  ideas,  he  painted  his  first  Amer 
ican  picture  of  "Washington  Crossing  the  Delaware." 
This  was  followed  by  "  Washington  rallying  his  Troops  at 
Monmouth,"  "Washington  at  Princeton,"  "  Washington 
at  Monongahela,"  "News  from  Lexington,"  "Sergeant 
Jasper,"  "Battle  of  Yorktown,"  by  a  number  of  full- 
length  historical  portraits,  by  Hester  Prynne  and  Little 
Pearl,  from  Hawthorne's  "  Scarlet  Letter,"  and  finally  by 
his  great  picture  of  "Westward  Ho  !  "  painted  for  the  gen 
eral  government.  While  it  is  true  that  his  purely  Ameri 
can  pictures  are  sufficiently  numerous  and  meritorious  to 
give  him  a  lasting  reputation,  it  is  also  true  that  what  he 
accomplished  in  that  direction  was  only  the  beginning  of 
what  he  hoped  to  perform.  But  a  full  account  of  Leutze's 
productions  cannot  even  be  catalogued  in  this  brief  letter, 
and  of  course  this  is  not  the  time  nor  place  to  enter  upon 
an  analysis  of  his  exalted  genius.  That  he  was  an  artist 
of  very  superior  ability  has  been  acknowledged  by  the 
best  European  and  American  critics  ;  and  that  he  wras 
remarkably  industrious  is  proven  by  the  large  number  of 
his  pictures  extant,  a  majority  of  which  are  owned  in  this 
country.  His  personal  appearance  and  nervous  manner 
denoted  him  a  man  of  genius,  and  his  attainments  as  a 
scholar  were  decidedly  creditable  ;  but,  gifted  as  he  was  in 
intellect,  he  was  also  a  man  of  rare  physical  courage  and 
endurance,  as  the  following  incidents  will  illustrate :  He 
once  accomplished,  within  the  limits  of  a  single  day  and 
unattended  by  a  guide,  the  ascent  of  one  of  the  highest 
mountains  of  Switzerland  ;  and,  although  he  suffered  ex 
ceedingly  from  fatigue  and  cold  and  thirst,  lie  returned  to 
his  lodgings  in  the  valley  without  the  least  injury.  On 
another  occasion,  when  about  to  journey  down  the  Rhine, 


CHARLES   HEAVYSEGE.  259 

the  little  bout  in  which  hewus  to  suilweiit  off  without  him  ; 
whereupon,  us  the  cuse  was  urgent,  he  recklessly  jumped 
into  the  water  and  attempted  to  swim  to  the  boat.  It 
was  in  the  month  of  October,  the  water  was  bitter  cold, 
and  that  portion  of  the  Rhine  was  a  continual  whirlpool  or 
rapid.  The  result  was  that  the  current  obtained  the  mas 
tery  over  him,  and  swept  him  down  the  stream  a  distance 
of  fice  miles,  when  he  regained  the  boat,  which  had  been 
detained  by  an  accident,  and  was  taken  on  board  in  safety. 
My  present  object,  however,  is  not  to  indite  a  biography 
of  the  lamented  Leutze,  but  simply  to  throw  a  wreath  of 
"sorrowing  rue"  upon  his  grave,  betokening  my  admira 
tion  and  love  for  one  who,  as  an  artist,  was  without  a 
superior,  in  many  particulars,  either  in  this  or  any  other 
country. 

CHARLES   HEAVYSEGE. 

THIS  is  the  name  of  the  only  well-known  poet  identified 
with  Canada,  and  he  is  one  whose  intellect,  in  some  par 
ticulars,  is  not  surpassed  in  North  America.  In  1HGO 
the  writer  of  this  paper  prepared  a  notice  of  him  for  the 
New  York  Evening  Post,  which  was  the  first  recognition 
of  him  published  in  this  country,  although,  through  Na 
thaniel  Hawthorne  (then  in  England),  a  criticism  on  his 
poetry  had  appeared  in  the  "  North  British  Review,"  two 
years  before.  In  the  "Atlantic  Monthly"  there  subse 
quently  appeared  another  review  of  the  new  poet,  written 
by  liayard  Taylor.  The  tone  of  this  criticism  was  kind, 
manly,  and  appreciative,  but  in  regard  to  matters  of  fact 
connected  with  the  personal  history  of  the  poet  it  contains 
a  few  errors,  which  I  think  proper  to  correct.  For  doing 
this  1  have  two  reasons :  the  poet  has  honored  me  with 


200  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

his  correspondence  for  several  years  past,  and  my  admira 
tion  of  his  ability  borders  on  enthusiasm. 

He  resides  in  Montreal.  By  the  people  generally  of 
that  goodly  city  he  is  spoken  of  as  a  cabinet-maker,  but 
until  recently  he  has  been  in  reality  a  carver  of  wood  ;  bv 
men  of  cultivation  who  know  him,  or  have  read  his  works, 
he  is  recognized  as  a  true  poet.  He  was  born  in  the  county 
of  Yorkshire,  England,  in  181 G  ;  was  reared  by  a  religious 
mother ;  received  a  limited  education,  and,  from  the  age 
of  nine  years  until  quite  recently,  it  has  been  his  lot  to 
labor  at  his  trade,  usually  from  ten  to  thirteen  hours  daily, 
and  with  few  intervals  of  relaxation.  In  1843  he  was 
married  ;  in  1853  he  emigrated  to  Canada  and  settled  in 
Montreal,  and  is  at  the  present  time,  1870,  connected  with 
the  daily  press  of  that  city. 

Though  always  a  close  observer  of  man  and  nature,  and 
ever  feeling  the  strivings  of  poetry  within,  he  has  been 
deprived  almost  entirely  of  those  opportunities  derived 
from  leisure  and  books  which  are  deemed  indispensable  to 
the  moulding  or  nourishment  of  the  intellect.  What  time 
he  had  to  spare  has  been  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  Bible 
and  Shakespeare.  In  a  literary  sense,  fortune  has  hitherto 
been  to  him  only  a  step-mother;  but  his  skies  are  now 
brightening,  and  it  must  be  that  the  time  is  at  hand  when 
he  is  to  be  everywhere  acknowledged  as  a  poet.  In 
speaking  of  his  most  elaborate  production,  the  "  North 
British  Review  "  says  that  "it  is  indubitably  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  English  poems  ever  written  out  of  Great 
Britain,"  and  one  of  its  characters  is  said  to  be  "de 
picted  witli  an  imaginative  veracity  which  has  not  been 
equalled  in  our  language  by  any  but  the  creator  of  Caliban 
and  Ariel."  Nor  is  the  "  Atlantic  Monthly  "  less  compli 
mentary,  for  it  says,  in  regard  to  his  last  production, 


CHARLES    HEAVYSEGE.  2G1 

"  Much  of  it  might  have  been  written  by  a  contemporary 
of  Shakespeare"  ;  and,  in  view  of  his  ability,  that  i;  never 
was  so  much  genuine  power  so  long  silent." 

The  first  poem  published  by  Mr.  Heavysege  was  a  ju 
venile  effort,  entitled  4i  The  Revolt  of  Tartarus,"  which 
long  ago  disappeared  from  public  view.  His  second  ap 
pearance  was  as  the  author  of  fifty  sonnets,  published, 
like  the  foregoing,  anonymously.  The  subjects  thereof 
are  high  toned  and  various,  and  their  style  subtle,  taste 
ful,  and  vigorous.  The  glimpses  they  give  us  of  the 
poet's  heart  are  calculated  to  win  our  affection ;  and, 
while  none  of  them  can  be  pronounced  perfect,  and  evi 
dently  are  not  as  highly  finished  as  they  might  be,  yet 
they  abound  in  fine  ideas  (such  as  Lamb  claimed  for  the 
sonnets  of  Sydney),  and  in  expressions  of  great  beauty 
and  power.  Hear,  for  example,  how  the  heart  of  the  poet 
speaks  of  celestial  music  :  — 

"  Thou  hast  a  spirit,  and  it  shall  not  sleep 

Beneath  the  burial  clod, 
But  shall  ascend  into  yon  azure  deep, 

Never  by  mortal  trod. 
Thou  slialt  divest  thee  of  this  ponderous  clay, 

And  soar  thy  passage  to  those  distant  spheres, 
And  have,  along  the  splendor  of  the  way, 

Their  music  in  thine  ears." 

And  again,  when  looking  sadly  into  the  darkness  of  a 
starless  night,  the  poet  himself  says  :  — 

"  Upward,  around,  and  downward  I  explore, 

Even  to  the  frontiers  of  the  ebon  air; 
But  cannot,  though  I  strive,  discover  more 

Than  what  seems  one  huge  cavern  of  despair." 

But  mere  flights  of  fancy  are  not  all  that  we  find  good 
in  these  sonnets,  for,  after  an  allusion  to  the  dawning  day, 
we  have  the  following  :  — 


262  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

"So  opens,  lovely,  human  life: 

The  infant  at  the  breast 
The  counterpart  is  of  that  ray 

Now  breaking  in  the  east. 
So  many  a  project  opens  fair; 

So  many  a  fair  intent ; 
So  each  has  in  his  life's  career 

One  bright  occasion  sent ; 
But  none  can  in  the  night  of  age 

lietrieve  a  life  misspent." 

It  is  due  to  the  author,  however,  that  we  should  give 
one  or  two  of  his  sonnets  entire,  and  we  therefore  select 
one  on  "  Death  "  and  another  on  "  Night "  :  — 

"  Why  should  I  die,  and  leave  the  ethereal  night, 

Moonlit,  star-sprent ;  this  canopy  of  blue 
Blotted  forever  from  my  cancelled  sight, 

Its  lofty  grandeur,  and  its  peerless  hue ! 
Why  should  I  die,  and  leave  the  glorious  day, 

Sun-bathed,  and  flaming  in  the  boundless  sky? 
Why  shall  some  morrow  to  the  living  say, 

'  His  ear  is  stopped,  and  ever  closed  his  eye'? 
Tell  me,  oh!  sadness,  speak,  and  tell  me  why. 

Ever  to  sleep,  and  hear  no  more  the  sound 
Of  rival  nations  marching  to  their  goal ; 

To  be  condemned  beneath  the  stolid  ground 
To  rest  unconscious  while  new  eras  roll : 
Oh!  art  thou  mocked  not?  tell  me,  tell  me,  soul." 

"  The  stars  are  glittering  in  the  frosty  sky, 

Hank  as  the  pebbles  on  a  broad  sea-coast; 
And  o'er  the  vault  the  cloud-like  galaxy 

Has  marshalled  its  innumerable  host : 
Alive  all  heaven  seems  !  with  wondrous  glow 

Tenfold  refulgent  every  star  appears ; 
As  if  some  wide,  celestial  gale  did  blow 

And  thrice  illume  the  ever-kindled  spheres. 


CHARLES   HEAVYSEGE.  263 

How  awful  is  the  night  when  thus  it  comes! 

How  terrible  the  grandeur  of  its  gloom, 
When,  in  one  visit,  recklessly  it  sums 

Glory  a  whole  dull  age  could  scarce  consume. 
Methinks  in  heaven  there 's  revelry  to-night, 
And  solemn  orgies  of  unknown  delight." 

The  third  and  far  more  important  of  our  poet's  produc 
tions  was  "•  Saul :  A  Drama  in  three  Parts."  As  the  title 
indicates,  it  is  founded  upon  the  career  of  the  great  Hebrew 
king,  occupies  no  less  than  fourteen  acts,  and  makes  a 
volume  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-eight  octavo  pages. 
It  was  first  published  in  Montreal  in  1857,  and  a  second 
edition  in  1851).  Though  very  long,  no  lover  of  genius 
can  read  the  first  act  of  the  drama  without  reading  to  the 
last  page  ;  and  numerous  as  are  the  scenes  and  characters 
portrayed,  the  unity  of  its  purpose  will  be  apparent,  and 
the  artistic  yet  simple  management  of  the  whole  cannot 
but  elicit  admiration.  Many  passages  remind  me  of  the 
older  English  dramatists,  and  since  the  appearance  of 
"  Philip  Van  Artevelde "  and  "Ion,"  I  have  met  with 
nothing  in  modern  dramatic  literature  which  has  afforded 
me  the  real  enjoyment  I  have  derived  from  "•  Saul."  It 
is  not  wanting  in  dramatic  effect,  though  some  conven 
tional  critics  might  find  fault  with  certain  passages  on 
this  score,  and  it  is  remarkably  free  from  the  mannerism 
and  egotism  so  common  in  similar  productions.  The 
author  displays  a  most  delicate  appreciation  of  inanimate 
nature,  has  a  strong  sympathy  for  the  ordinary  feelings 
of  humanity ;  and  there  is  no  sameness  or  monotony  in 
his  delineations  of  human  character.  He  seems  to  have 
emulated  the  master  minds  of  the  past,  and  gives  us  les 
sons  of  deepest  import  without  sanctimonious  pretensions 
on  his  part. 


264  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

To  a  messenger  who  had  expressed  the  hope  that  Saul 
would  not  fail  his  people  in  battle,  he  gives  utterance  to 
these  clarion  words  :  — 

"Let  the  morn  fail  to  break ;  I  will  not  break 
My  word.     Haste !  or  I  'm  there  before  you.     Fail! 
Let  the  morn  fail  the  east ;  I  '11  not  fail  you, 
But,  swift  and  silent  as  the  streaming  wind, 
Unseen,  approach ;  then,  gathering  up  my  force 
At  dawning,  sweep  on  Ammou,  as  night's  blast 
Sweeps  down  from  Carmel  on  the  dusky  sea." 

Before  a  battle  the  king  thus  moralizes  :  — 

"Boy,  bring  my  arms !  not  now  we  '11  moralize, 
Although  to  light  it  needs  that  some  must  fall. 
When  this  day's  work  is  done,  and  serious  night 
Disposes  to  reflection  and  gives  leisure, 
We  will  review  the  hours  of  the  past  slaughter ; 
And,  while  around,  to  heaven  ascends  a  dew 
Distilled  from  blood  now  throbbing  through  its  veins, 
Sorrow  for  whom  we  must." 

And  when  flushed  with  victory,  with  what  a  splendid 
thought  does  he  compliment  the  valor  of  his  people  :  — 

"  But  let  us  sheathe  these  trenchant  ministers; 
For,  by  the  souls  for  whom  they  have  hewn  a  passage 
Unto  some  far,  mysterious  gehenna, 
Or  to  the  troubled  sepulchre  of  the  air, 
They  have  well  done." 

Further  on,  after  commenting  upon  the  bravery  of  Jona 
than,  Saul  thus  speaks :  — 

"  The  vulgar,  to  whom  courage  is  not  native, 
And  who  have  not  acquired,  by  proud  traditions, 
The  fear  of  shame  and  dainty  sense  of  honor, 
Must  by  religion's  rites  obtain  the  valor 
Which  best  is  carried  ready  in  the  heart." 


CHARLES    IIEAVYSEGE.  2G5 

The  fortunes  of  war  have  turned  against  the  king ;  and, 
in  the  following  how  like  the  broken-hearted  Lear  does 
he  bewail  his  fate  :  — 

"Home,  home,  let  us,  dishonored  —  home,  if  there 
Be  yet  for  us  a  home,  and  the  Philistines 
Drive  us  not  forth  to  miserable  exile. 
Will  they  allow  us,  like  to  a  breathed  hare 
Spent,  to  retuni  and  repossess  our  form  ? 
Will  they  endure  us  in  Gibeah?  or  must  we 
Discover  some  dark  den  on  Lebanon, 
And  dwell  with  lions  ?  or  must  we  with  foxes 
Burrow,  and  depend  on  cunning  for  our  food? 
Better  with  lions  and  with  foxes  mating, 
Than  be  companions  of  the  brood  of  Israel ; 
Yea,  better  with  the  hill  wolf  famishing, 
Than  battening  with  the  drove  that  forms  the  world." 

The  general  scope  of  this  drama  is  in  keeping  with  the 
Bible  history  of  Saul  and  the  leading  personages  asso 
ciated  with  him  ;  but  of  course  the  filling  up,  as  it  might  be 
termed,  is  all  original.  The  boldest  attempt  of  our  poet, 
perhaps,  is  that  of  introducing  supernatural  characters ; 
and  in  one  or  two  of  his  evil  spirits  he  has  been  eminently 
successful.  Indeed  we  fully  concur  with  the  "  North  Brit 
ish  Review"  when  it  says  that  "seldom  has  art  so  well  per 
formed  the  office  of  handmaiden  to  religion  as  in  the 
extraordinary  character  of  Malzah,  in  whom  we  have  the 
disembodiment  of  the  soul  of  the  faithless,  sophistical, 
brave,  and  generously  disposed  king  of  Israel,  and  a  most 
impressive  poetical  exposition  of  the  awful  truth,  that  he 
who  is  not  wholly  for  God  is  against  him." 

Soon  after  the  horrible  death  of  Agag,  two  demons  make 
their  appearance  in  the  drama,  when  one  of  them,  satis 
fied  with  what  he  had  witnessed,  suggests  to  his  compan- 


2G6  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

ion  that  they  should  return  to  hell,  when  the  other  replies 
as  follows  :  — 

"  Stay !  for  the  road  thereto  is  yet  encumbered 
With  the  descending  spectres  of  the  killed. 
'T  is  said  they  choke  hell's  gates,  and  stretch  from  thence 
Out  like  a  tongue  upon  the  silent  gulf 
Wherein  our  spirits  —  even  as  terrestrial  ships 
That  are  detained  by  foul  winds  in  an  ofling  — 
Linger,  perforce,  and  feel  broad  gusts  of  sighs, 
That  swing  them  on  the  dark  and  billowless  waste, 
O'er  which  come  sounds  more  dismal  than  the  boom, 
At  midnight,  of  the  salt  flood's  foaming  surf, 
Even  dead  Amalek's  moan  and  lamentation." 

In  keeping  with  the  above,  which  would  be  a  fit  subject 
for  the  pencil  of  Dore,  on  the  score  of  horror,  is  the  sub 
joined  soliloquy,  uttered  by  Saul  when  first  fully  possessed 
by  his  evil  spirit,  Malzah  :  — 

"What  ails  me?  what  impels  me  on  until 
The  big  drops  fall  from  off  my  brow  ?    Whence  comes 
This  strange  affliction  ?    Oh,  thus  to  be  driven 
About !     I  will  stand  still :  now  move  me  aught 
That  can.     Ah,  shake  me,  thing;  shake  me  again, 
Like  an  old  thorn  i'  th'  blast !     'T  is  leaving  me ; 
Oh,  that  it  were  forever !     Oh,  how  long 
Shall  this  fierce  malady  continue  these 
Dread  visitations  ?     See,  't  is  here  again ! 
What 's  here  again  ?  or  who  ?     Here  's  none  save  I ; 
And  yet  there 's  some  one  here.     'T  is  here,  't  is  here, 
Within  my  brain  :  no,  it  is  in  my  heart  — 
Within  my  soul,  where  rise  again  black  thoughts 
And  horrible  conceptions,  that  from  hell 
Might  have  come  up.     All  blasphemies  that  my  ears 
Ever  heard;  my  horridest  ideas  in  dreams; 
And  impious  conceits,  that  even  a  fiend 
Methinks  could  scarcely  muster,  swarm  within 
Me,  rank  and  black  as  summer  flies  on  ordure. 


CHARLES    HEAVYSEGE.  267 

Oh,  what  a  den  this  moment  is  my  breast! 

How  cold  I  feel,  how  cruel  and  invidious! 

Now  let  no  child  of  mine  approach  me ;  neither 

Do  thou  come  near  to  me,  Ahinoam, 

The  mother  and  the  wife  I  dearly  love ; 

For  now  the  universe  appears  one  field 

On  which  to  spend  my  rancor.     Oh,  disperse, 

Fit,  nor  return  with  thy  o'crwhelming  shadows! 

Oh,  that  it  would  be  gone,  and  leave  me  in 

My  sorrow  !     Surely  't  is  enough  to  live 

In  lone  despair.     To  reign  is  care  enough, 

Even  in  rude  health;  but  to  be  harassed  thus 

By  an  unnamed  affection  — and  why  harassed? 

Oh,  why  am  I  thus  harassed?     I  have  heard 

Of  wretches  raging  under  sharp  remorse; 

Of  cruel  monarchs,  in  their  latter  days, 

Falling  a  prey  to  an  accusing  conscience ; 

But  why  should  I,  whose  faults  smite  but  myself, 

Be  thus  tormented  ? " 

A  few  pages  further  on,  and  after  Saul  has  recovered 
from  one  of  his  dreadful  paroxysms,  lie  has  an  interview 
with  his  physician,  and  a  part  of  that  dialogue  is  too 
pathetic  to  omit  in  this  compilation  :  — 

1'iiYsiciAx.  Time  is  the  skilfullest 

Physician,  and  tenderest  nurse. 
SAUL.  But  memory  is  time's  defller. 

PHYSICIAN.       To  know  is  not  to  suffer 

Always;  for  wrongs,  like  men,  grow  weak  when 
old- 

But  I'm  too  bold,  your  majesty. 
SAUL.  I  have  heard  say 

That,  toward  the  west,  a  people  live  believing 

There  is  a  river  that  can  wash  the  past 

From  out  the  memory. 
PHYSICIAN.  I  've  travelled  'mongst  them  : 

But  they  believe  *t  is  only  after  death 

That  those  dark  waters  can  avail  the  spirit; 


268  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

Which,  losing  the  remembrance  of  past  evil, 
Kesigns  therewith  the  memory  of  past  good. 

SAUL.  I  ask  not  such  oblivion  !    But  hast  nothing 

That  can  avail  a  mortal  whilst  he  lives  ! 
What  are  the  dead  to  thee  ? 

PHYSICIAN.  Your  majesty, 

Here  I  cannot  help  you ;  I  have  no  opiate 
That  can  assuage  the  anguish  of  the  spirit ; 
Nor  subtle,  fine  astringent  is  there  known 
Can  bind  the  wanderings  of  a  lawless  fancy ; 
No  soft,  insinuating  balsam  that 
Can  through  the  body  reach  the  sickly  soul. 

SAUL.  Hast  naught,  then,  in  thy  dispensatory? 

PHYSICIAN.       I  've  sedatives,  narcotics,  tonics,  too  — 

SAUL.  Give  me  a  tonic  for  the  heart. 

As  I  have  mentioned  the  name  of  Malzah,  it  is  proper 
that  I  should  give  the  reader  a  taste  of  his  qualities. 
With  the  following  words,  for  example,  does  lie  conclude 
one  of  bis  infernal  songs  :  — 

"  Here  comes  my  royal  maniac  in  my  chains, 
I'm  here,  yet  riding  in  his  brains." 

Again  does  he  exclaim  in  devilish  delight :  — 

"  His  mind's  defences  are  blown  down  by  passion." 
And  again :  — 

"  I  never  knew  a  devil  that  fared  better : 
I  feed  on  a  king's  sighs,  do  drink  queen's  tears, 
Am  clothed  with  half  a  nation's  maledictions." 

And  how  vivid  is  this  description  of  the  poor  king  as  he 
lies  asleep  upon  a  bed  at  midnight :  — 

"  He  is  now  sleeping,  but  his  fervent  brow 
Is  all  meandered  o'er  by  swollen  veins, 
Across  his  temple  one  appears  nigh  bursting. 
He  breathes,  too,  heavily,  and  a  feeble  moan 
I  hear  within  him  ;  showing  that  his  soul, 


CHA11LKS    HKAVYSEGE.  200 

(Like  to  a  child  that's  wept  itself  to  sleep,) 

Even  in  slumber  doth  retain  its  trouble. 

I  am  loath  again  to  rack  him  ;  but  T  will, 

For  I  am  desperate  to  escape  from  slavery. 

I  will  breathe  hotly  on  his  countenance, 

And  when  he  awakes  and  doth  cry  out  for  water  — 

Which  I  will  make  his  servants  slow  in  bringing  — 

I'll  enter  him  'midst  his  vociferations, 

And  goad  him  back  to  madness." 

Leaving  this  demon  to  carry  on  his  warfare  against  the 
monarch  of  Israel,  we  run  over  the  pages  hastily  to  pick 
out  such  brief  sentences  as  are  particularly  striking  and 
need  no  explanation,  concluding  with  one  more  quotation 
from  the  hero  of  the  drama.  Read  the  following:  — 

"  Music 
Moves  but  that  portion  of  us  which  is  good." 

"  lie  's  great  who  's  happy  everywhere." 

"He  with  his  spear,  which  is  like  a  weaver's  beam, 
"Would  stop  the  dancing  shuttle  of  thy  life." 

"  Oh,  for  a  woman's  shriek  to  cut  the  cords 
That  bind  my  woe  down  on  my  swelling  heart 
Until  I  suffocate  !     Oh,  let  me  weep  !  " 

"  Water  flees 

From  fire;  so  now,  perforce,  gush  forth  my  tears 
Out  of  my  heart  fierce  burning." 

"  For  we  have  conscience  here,  and  what  can  we 
Have  worse  hereafter?  " 

"  That  last,  worst  state  —  despair  combined  with  fear." 

"  Yes,  presently  there  '11  be  a  sleep 
With  time  enough  to  dream  in." 

Let  us  listen  to  the  poor  king  sighing  for  sleep,  and 
then,  after  enduring  many  troubles  more,  see  him  sink 
into  that  sleep  that  knows  no  waking  :  — 


270  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

"  There  was  a  time  when  Sleep 
Was  wont  to  approach  me  with  her  soundless  feet, 
And  take  me  by  surprise.     I  called  her  not, 
And  yet  she  'd  come  ;  but  I  even  woo  her, 
And  court  her  by  the  cunning  use  of  drugs, 
But  still  she  will  not  turn  to  me  her  steps ; 
Not  even  to  approach,  and,  looking  down, 
Drop  on  these  temples  one  oblivious  tear. 
I  that  ain  called  a  king,  whose  word  is  law,  — 
Awake  I  lie  and  toss,  while  the  poor  slave, 
Whom  I  have  taken  prisoner  in  my  wars, 
Sleeps  soundly ;  and  he  who  had  sold  himself  to  service, 
Although  his  cabin  rock  beneath  the  gale, 
Hears  not  the  uproar  of  the  night,  but  smiling, 
Dreams  of  the  year  of  jubilee.     I  would  that  I 
Could  sleep  at  night;  for  then  I  should  not  hear 
Ahinoam,  poor  grieved  one,  sighing  near." 

He  has  been  mortally  wounded  in  battle,  and  these  are 
his  last  words  :  — 

"  Now  let  me  die,  for  I  indeed  was  slain 
With  my  three  sons.     Where  are  ye,  sons  !     Oh,  let  me 
Find  ye,  that  I  may  perish  with  you  ;  dying, 
Cover  you  with  my  form,  as  doth  the  fowl 
Cover  her  chickens  !     Oh,  Philistia, 
Thou  now  art  compensated;  now  art  getting 
Rich  with  this  crimson,  hot,  and  molten  tide; 
That  waits  not  patient  to  be  coined  in  drops, 
But  rushes,  in  an  ingot-forming  stream, 
Out  of  the  mine  and  mintage  of  my  heart ! 
Oh,  my  three  poor  dead  sons,  where  are  you?    Ye 
Have  gone  before  me  into  the  hereafter 
Upon  such  innocency-flighted  steps, 
That  I,  with  feet  cumbered  with  clots  of  blood, 
Shall  lose  of  you  all  glimpse,  and  then  my  soul 
Shall  drop  to  the  abyss.     Gush  faster,  blood, 
And  gallop  with  my  soul  towards  Hades, 
That  yawns  obscure." 


CHARLKS    IIKAVYSEGE.  271 

The  next  production  printed  by  Mr.  Heavysege  was  a 
drama  in  five  acts,  entitled  "  Count  Filippo ;  or,  The  Un 
equal  Marriage."  The  scenery  and  personages  are  Italian, 
though  very  different  in  character  from  the  other  works 
of  the  author,  but  is  nevertheless  well  worthy  of  his  gifted 
pen.  The  plot  is  paii  f  il  and  somewhat  overstrained,  but 
the  story,  and  the  manner  of  telling  it,  have  a  strange 
power  over  the  reader.  It  was  not  until  after  he  had  pub 
lished  this  poem  that  the  press  of  Canada  condescended 
to  recognize  the  poet  as  of  sufficient  capacity  to  furnish 
them  with  an  occasional  communication  on  the  topics  of 
the  day.  While  filling  their  papers  with  fulsome  praise  of 
snobby  lordlings  from  England,  they  have  not,  for  the 
most  part,  had  time  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the  wood- 
carver  of  Montreal  was  the  leading  intellect  of  their 
Dominion.  And  as  to  encouragement  from  the  Uni 
ted  States,  I  have  never  seen  a  single  copy  of  his 
writings  in  any  library  in  this  country,  excepting  my 
own. 

After  '*  Filippo,"  Mr.  Heavysege  published  an  "Ode  on 
Shakespeare."  It  is  in  blank  verse,  contains  nearly  eight 
hundred  lines,  but  is  hardly  worthy  of  the  author  of  "  Saul.'' 
His  last  production,  published  in  Montreal  in  18G5,  is  a 
sacred  idyl  of  fourteen  hundred  lines,  entitled  "  Jephthah's 
Daughter."  As  in  the  case  of  "  Saul,"  the  poet  here  follows 
the  narrative  of  the  Bible.  By  many  this  poem  will  be  con 
sidered  the  greatest  and  most  perfect  of  his  productions  ; 
but  I  have  read  "Saul"  so  many  times,  and  with  so 
much  pleasure,  that  I  am  loath  as  yet  to  yield  the  palm  to 
the  new-comer.  If  I  had  not  already  exceeded  my  limits, 
nothing  would  afford  me  more  pleasure  than  to  give  my 
readers  a  score  or  two  of  splendid  passages  from  this 
poem  ;  but  I  must  be  content  with  submitting  a  single 


272  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

extract,  in  which  I  find  the  unhappy  daughter  pleading 
with  her  more  unhappy  mother  :  — 

"  Let  me  not  need  now  disobey  you,  mother, 
But  give  me  leave  to  knock  at  Death's  pale  gate, 
Whereat,  indeed,  I  must  by  duty  drawn, 
By  nature  shown  the  sacred  way  to  yield. 
Behold,  the  coasting  cloud  obe}'s  the  breeze; 
The  slanting  smoke,  the  invisible,  sweet  air; 
The  towering  tree  its  leafy  limbs  resigns 
To  the  embraces  of  the  wilful  wind ; 
Shall  I,  then,  wrong,  resist  the  hand  of  Heaven? 
Take  me,  my  father!  take,  accept  me,  Heaven! 
Slay  me,  or  save,  even  as  you  will ! 
Light,  light,  I  leave  thee  !  yet  am  I  a  lamp, 
Extinguished  now  to  be  relit  forever. 
Life  dies;  but  in  its  stead,  death  lives." 

If  the  fragments  here  submitted  from  the  pen  of  Charles 
Heavysege  do  not  win  for  him  a  host  of  friends  from  the 
intellectual  circles  of  this  country,  then,  indeed,  shall  I 
be  surprised  and  disappointed. 

After  writing  the  above,  a  new  edition  of  "  Saul"  was 
published  in  Boston,  and,  in  1876,  this  most  gifted  poet 
died  in  Montreal.  From  the  correspondence  with  which 
he  has  honored  me,  I  submit  the  following  :  — 

MONTREAL,  Oct.  12,  1800. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  must  beg  pardon  for  my  delay  in  an 
swering  your  generous  letter,  which  was  six  weeks  old 
before  I  got  it  from  our  post-office  ;  and  since  that  time 
various  circumstances  have  conspired  to  delay  my  reply. 
Your  good  opinion  of  what  T  have  written  gratifies  me 
much  ;  and  I  gladly  attempt  to  give  you  the  sketch  of  my 
history  which  you  require.  I  was  born  in  England,  as  I 
believe  you  are  aware ;  my  ancestors  on  the  paternal  side 


CHARLES   HEAVYSEGE.  273 

being  of  Yorkshire  (whence  Mr.  Gales  of  the  Intelli 
gencer).  I  was  what  is  usually  styled  religiously  brought 
up,  and,  though  my  works  are  dramatic,  taught  to  con 
sider  not  only  the  theatre  itself,  but  dramatic  literature, 
even  in  its  best  examples,  as  forbidden  things.  Hence, 
when  a  boy,  it  was  only  by  dint  of  great  persuasion  that 
I  covertly  obtained  from  my  mother  some  few  pence 
weekly  for  a  cheap  edition  of  Shakespeare  that  was  then 
being  issued  in  parts.  From  the  age  of  nine  until  the 
present  time,  except  a  short  period  spent  at  school,  it 
has  been  my  lot  to  labor,  usually  from  ten  to  thirteen 
hours  daily,  and  with  few  or  no  intervals  of  relaxation. 
But  I  was  always  thoughtful  and  observant  of  man  and 
nature,  and,  from  childhood,  felt  the  stirrings  of  poetry 
within  me.  These  were  cherished  in  secret  for  many  years  ; 
and,  being  of  a  rather  retired  and,  perhaps,  solitary  dis 
position,  I,  until  lately,  wrote  unknown  to  any  except 
those  of  my  own  family. 

The  first  recognition  I  met  with  was  from  the  "  North 
British"  and  ''Saturday  Reviews,"  and  I  believe  some 
others  in  England  that  I  have  not  yet  seen.  "Count 
Filippo"  received  a  most  flattering  notice  in  the  New  York 
Albion;  and  Mr.  S.  Stephens,  who  is  just  returned  from 
Boston,  tells  me  that  he  heard  me  very  favorably  spoken 
of  by  Emerson,  Longfellow,  and  Mr.  Fields  (of  the  firm 
Ticknor  &  Fields).  Still,  I  am  at  present  unknown,  and 
my  writing,  hitherto,  has  been  under  inconveniences  that 
might  surprise  the  author  who  is  accustomed  to  retire 
into  the  quiet  of  his  study  when  engaged  in  composition. 
That  I  have  often  repined  that  it  should  be  so,  I  will  not 
deny.  In  a  literary  sense,  fortune  has  hitherto  been  but  a 
step-mother  to  me,  but  I  trust  that  better  days  are  in  store, 
when  I  may  have  that  leisure  to  see,  study,  and  write, 
18 


274  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

which  is  all  that  I  crave.  Again  thanking  yon  for  your 
kind  intention  toward  me,  believe  me,  with  best  regards 
to  Mrs.  Lanman,  Yours  truly, 

CHARLES  HEAVYSEGE. 

P.  S.  Out  of  "  Saul "  I  have  just  finished  condensing  an 
acting  play  for  a  New  York  manager.  If  justice  be  done 
to  it  in  the  performance,  I  think  it  will  succeed ;  anyhow, 
it  is  a  beginning,  and  may  lead  to  something  further.  I 
should  be  happy  indeed  to  do  anything  to  elevate  and 
refine  the  stage.  Should  you  hereafter  honor  me  with  a 
letter,  you  shall  find  that  I  appreciate  it  by  answering 
promptly.  Could  you  post  me  a  copy  of  the  article  which 
you  may  write,  or  inform  uie  when  and  in  what  paper  to 
look  for  it?  C.  II. 


MONTREAL,  Feb.  11, 1861. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Although  so  long  deferred,  allow  me  to 
perform  a  duty  as  well  as  a  pleasure  by  expressing  my 
sincere  thanks  to  you  for  your  able  and  judicious  notice  of 
me  and  mine  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post.  I  cannot 
imagine  your  selections  to  have  been  better  made,  for  the 
limited  space  at  your  command  (a  remark  which  has  also 
been  made  by  others) .,  I  fear  that  in  the  States  these 
are  scarcely  times  to  pay  attention  to  literary  performances, 
but  your  kind  notice  cannot  but  have  effected  its  purpose  ; 
indeed,  immediately  upon  its  appearance,  I  received  a 
communication  from  one  of  its  readers. 

Once  more,  then,  permit  me  to  thank  you,  and  also  to 
hope  that  the  political  tempest  in  which,  I  suppose,  you  nt 
present  live,  move,  and  have  your  being,  may  not  to  your 
ears  entirely  drown  this  breath  of  acknowledgment,  so 


CHARLES   HEAVYSEGE.  275 

that  it  pass  by  you  as  the  idle  wind  that  you  regard 
not.  With  respects  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Laninan,  and 
hoping  to  be  continued  amongst  your  correspondents, 
believe  me,  Yours  truly, 

CHARLES  HEAVYSEGE. 

MONTREAL,  L.  C.,  Oct.  2, 1805. 

M>/  dear  Sir,  —  If  it  is  pleasant  to  make  new  friends,  it  is 
still  more  agreeable  to  find  that  we  yet  retain  the  old  ones. 

Siic-li  ti  pleasure  you  have  just  afforded  me  in  offering  to 
follow  up  in  the  "  Round  Table  "  the  article  in  the  "Atlan 
tic,"  entitled  "The  Author  of  'Saul.'"  To  that  end  I 
have  great  pleasure  in  presenting  you  with  a  copy  of 
"  Jephthah's  Daughter"  and  of  the  "  Shakespeare  Ode." 
Of  course  the  idea  of  remitting  me  the  money  for  these  is 
a  jest.  I  must,  indeed,  ask  your  pardon  for  my  having 
neglected  to  send  you  a  copy  of  them  at  the  time  of  their 
publication. 

You  ask  me  to  tell  you  all  about  myself.  Believe  me, 
sir,  there  is  no  one  to  whom  I  would  sooner  do  so.  Yet 
what  I  could  with  propriety  communicate  might  not,  at 
present,  so  much  interest  the  public.  What  they  would 
wish  to  learn  is  something  about  my  works,  and  of  course 
your  aim  would  be  to  make  them  acquainted  with  them, 
according  as  you  think  these  labors  deserve. 

The  few  facts  of  a  biographical  nature  given  in  the 
"Atlantic"  are  generally  correct,  and  I  well  remember  the 
writer  calling  upon  me  one  morning  for  a  few  minutes  as 
he  states.  You  will  not  have  quite  forgotten  my  acci 
dental  interview  with  yourself  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Steph 
ens.  What  I  have  throughout  my  life  had  most  to  regret 
has  been,  and  now  is,  a  want  of  leisure  to  devote  to  prac 
tical  pursuits.  You  will  know  that  to  be  the  reporter  aud 


276  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

local  editor  of  a  daily  newspaper  does  not  permit  of  the 
seizing  of  those  inspired  moods,  which  come  we  know  not 
how,  and  leave  us  we  know  not  wherefore.  I  have  been 
for  the  last  five  years  engaged  in  the  daily  press  of  this 
city,  with  the  exception  of  one  brief  interval  when  I  re 
turned  to  my  original  calling.  It  was  during  that  short 
interval  that  "  Jephthah's  Daughter  "  was  written.  The 
Ode  was  composed  to  be  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Shakespeare  tercentenary  celebration,  in  Montreal.  It 
was  undertaken  at  the  request  of  a  few  gentlemen,  the 
principal  one  of  whom  was,  by  the  by,  an  American  resi 
dent  here.  What  the  "Atlantic"  says  is  true.  Long 
fellow,  Emerson,  and  Americans  here  and  at  home  have 
been  the  earliest  and  fullest  to  confess  that  they  saw 
something  of  promise,  and  even  of  performance,  in  your 
present  correspondent ;  and  I  fancy  it  will  be  on  your 
side  of  the  lines  that  I  shall  first  obtain  (if  ever  I  do 
obtain  it)  a  decided  recognition,  as  being  one  amongst 
those  who  in  the  present  day  have  written  something  which 
gives  them  a  slight  title  to  the  name  of  poet.  Canada 
has  not  a  large  cultivated  class,  and  what  of  such  there  is 
amongst  us  not  only  misdoubts  its  own  judgment,  but  has 
generally  no  literary  faith  in  sons  of  the  soil,  native  or 
adopted.  I  often  think  that  if  fortune  had  guided  my 
steps  towards  the  States,  say  Boston,  when  I  left  England, 
the  literary  course  of  my  life  would  have  been  influenced 
for  the  better.  But  it  is  too  late  to  regret.  If  you 
should  prove  instrumental  in  some  degree  in  introducing 
me  to  the  American  public  during  the  reading  season  that 
is  now  about  to  commence,  I  shall  be  glad.  I  should  like 
wise  feel  obliged  if  you  would  refrain  from  making  allu 
sion  to  any  narrowness  of  circumstances,  either  of  my 
self  or  parents.  Of  course  you  know  that  I  have  been, 


LAFAYETTE    S.    FOSTER.  '1  i  I 

and  am  now,  one  of  what  is  called  the  working  class,  a 
circumstance  of  which  I  am  rather  proud  than  otherwise  ; 
but  my  father  was  the  heir  to  a  patrimony  which,  from  a 
romantic  idea  of  justice,  he,  on  coining  of  age,  sold,  and 
divided  the  proceeds  amongst  his  relatives,  and  so  re 
duced  himself  from  the  condition  of  a  yeoman  to  that  of 
one  dependent  upon  the  labor  of  his  own  hands.  My 
maternal  grandfather,  too,  wasted  a  small  fortune  in  the 
indulgence  of  a  too  gay  and  hospitable  disposition,  which 
eventually  brought  him  to  end  his  days  in  an  inferior 
position. 

Forgive  me  for  giving  you  this,  perhaps  superfluous,  cau 
tion,  but  for  so  doing  I  have  family  reasons  which  you  can 
readily  understand.  For  the  rest,  you  can  make  what  use 
you  please  of  these  latter  items  of  information,  if  you 
think  they  will  confer  any  interest  or  grace  on  your  prom 
ised  notice.  This  will  be  the  second  time  you  have  kindly 
striven  to  serve  me,  and  if  you  would  send  me  a  copy  of 
the  "Hound  Table"  containing  what  you  shall  think  lit  to 
write,  it  will  give  me  another  occasion  of  acknowledging 
my  obligation  to  you.  With  best  respects  to  Mrs.  Lanman, 
believe  me. 

Respectfully, 

CHARLES  HEAVYSEGE. 


LAFAYETTE   S.  FOSTER. 

HE  was  my  friend,  good  and  true ;  and  I  only  obey  the 
impulse  of  my  heart  when  I  speak  a  loving  word  in  his 
memory.  He  was  a  pure,  gifted,  high-toned,  and  noble 
Christian  gentleman  ;  and  I  am  proud  to  record  the  fact 
that,  by  the  ties  of  marriage,  he  was  allied  to  my  father's 


278  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

family,  having  married  one  of  his  sisters.     He  was  born 
in  Franklin,  New  London  County,  Conn.,  Nov.  22,  180G, 
and  died  at  Norwich,  Sept.  19,  1880.     His  father,  Daniel 
Foster,  served  with  honor  as  a  captain  in  the  Revolution 
ary  war,  and  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Miles  Standish. 
His  mother  was  a  woman  of  rare  excellence,  and  worthy  of 
her  noted  son  ;   and  it  is  a  pleasant  recollection  that,  be 
fore  removing  into  the  elegant  house  in  which  he  died,  he 
provided  for  that  mother  and  a  sister  a  comfortable  home 
wherein  to  spend  their  days  in  peace.    While  preparing  him 
self  for  college,  he  taught  in  one  of  the  schools  of  Norwich  ; 
graduated  at  Brown  University  in  1828  ;  and,  while  pre 
paring  himself  for  the  life  of  a  lawyer,  taught  in  an  acad 
emy  in  the  State  of   Maryland,   in  which  State  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  afterwards  admitted  to  that  of 
Connecticut.     In  1835  he  had  the  editorial  charge  of  a 
newspaper  in  Norwich  ;  but  the  employment  was  not  con 
genial,  and  he  soon  relinquished  the  position.     In  1837, 
after  a  long  intimacy  with  the  family,  he  married  Joanna 
Boylston  Lanman,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  James  Lanman, 
by  whom  he  had  three  children,  all  of  whom  died  at  an 
early  age  ;   and  his  wife  also  died  in   1859.     She  was  a 
most    accomplished    and    amiable    woman, — for   several 
years  my  own  especial  guardian,  —  and  did  much  to  pro 
mote  her  husband's  interests  and  happiness,  not  only  in 
Connecticut,    but,    also,    while    he    was    a    resident    of 
Washington.     The    calamities    which  befell  his  domestic 
circle,    however,    notwithstanding    his    marked   Christian 
character,    had    a    depressing    effect    on   his   subsequent 
life.     In  1839  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  to 
which  he  was  six  times  re-elected,  and  was   Speaker  for 
three  years.     In  1840  he  visited  Europe,  and  in  1851  was 
made  a  doctor  of  laws  by  Brown  University.     In  1854  he 


LAFAYETTE    S.    FOSTER.  279 

was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  where  he  was  a 
recognized  leader  for  twelve  years,  serving  on  the  most 
important  committees,  and  two  years  as  President  pro  (cm 
and  acting  Vice-President.  Before  the  Rebellion,  he  was 
ready  to  make  many  concessions  ;  hut  after  the  war  had 
commenced,  he  was  a  most  earnest  defender  of  the  Union, 
though  never  bitter  in  his  feelings.  He  was  present  at 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  but  only  as  a  spectator ;  and  it  is 
not  yet  a  settled  question  whether  he,  Zachariah  Chandler, 
and  Alfred  Ely  returned  to  Washington  all  on  the  same 
horse,  or  on  foot  with  rare  rapidity.  From  what  sub 
sequently  happened,  that  little  affair  at  Bull  Run  would 
seem  to  have  inspired  a  regular  spirit  of  adventure ;  for, 
a  few  years  afterwards,  as  the  head  of  a  Senate  committee, 
he  went  on  an  expedition  among  the  Indians,  and  actually 
hunted  the  Buffalo  bulls  on  the  Western  prairies  ;  and  the 
stories  which  Senator  Doolittle  used  to  tell  of  their  exploits, 
for  he  was  on  the  same  committee,  were  amusing  in  the 
extreme. 

Jn  1870,  Mr.  Foster  was  again  elected  to  the  State  Legis 
lature,  and  soon  afterwards  was  made  a  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  having  retired  in  187G.  After 
the  close  of  his  first  term  as  a  judge,  he  visited  Europe ; 
and  so  careful  was  he  not  to  neglect  his  duties  that  he 
came  home  to  sit  out  a  second  term  of  the  court,  and  then 
went  back  to  finish  his  European  tour.  He  was  offered  a 
professorship  in  Yale  College  ;  and,  though  he  declined  the 
honor,  he  subsequently  delivered  a  series  of  law  lectures 
before  the  students  of  the  college,  and  by  his  will  endowed 
a  professorship  on  English  law  in  that  institution.  He 
took  a  special  interest  in  all  the  local  affairs  of  his  native 
county,  bequeathed  his  law  library  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public,  and  the  valuable  property  which  was  his  home  to 


280  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

the  Free  Academy  of  Norwich.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  many  religious  organizations  ;  did  not  think  it  beneath 
his  dignity  to  teach  a  Bible  class  in  the  church  to  which  he 
belonged  ;  and  the  last  of  his  addresses  to  the  public  was 
delivered  on  the  Gth  of  September,  1880,  at  the  Fort  Gris- 
wold  celebration,  only  thirteen  days  before  his  death. 

The  collected  speeches,  orations,  and  lectures  delivered 
by  this  model  statesman  and  lawyer  would  be  a  great 
acquisition  to  our  national  literature  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
they  will  be  published  in  due  time.  He  was  one  of  those 
who  never  went  out  of  his  way  to  gain  popularity,  and 
though  cautious  in  all  his  public  acts  and  sayings,  he  was 
always  honest  and  independent. 

My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Foster  began  in  the  year 
1833,  when  I  frequently  met  him  in  Norwich,  at  the  Sat 
urday  family  dinners  of  my  grandfather,  James  Lanman, 
one  of  whose  daughters,  as  already  stated,  subsequently 
became  his  wife,  and  under  whose  loving  protection  it  was 
my  lot,  as  a  boy,  to  live  for  two  or  three  years.  His 
early  career  as  a  lawyer  was  most  satisfactory,  and  he 
rose  with  rapidity  to  the  position  of  a  leader  at  the  Nor 
wich  bar.  He  was  chiefly  engaged  in  the  higher  class  of 
cases,  in  the  whole  of  Eastern  Connecticut ;  and  his  habit 
was  to  prosecute  them  with  the  utmost  energy.  As  a 
pleader  he  was  argumentative  and  serious ;  and,  while 
his  fees  with  rich  men  were  highly  remunerative,  he  was 
always  ready  to  protect  or  assist  a  poor  client  without 
remuneration. 

His  prolonged  services  as  a  State  legislator  were  of  such 
a  character  that  his  transition,  without  passing  through  the 
national  House  of  Representatives,  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  was  the  most  natural  of  events  ;  and  how 
he  conducted  himself,  both  as  a  senator  and  as  President 


LAFAYETTE   S.    FOSTER.  281 

of  the  Senate,  is  a  part  of  our  honorable  national  history  ; 
and  it  was  according  to  the  fitness  of  things,  that  he  should 
have  passed  from  the  Senate  to  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  his 
native  State. 

It  was  while  he  resided  in  Washington,  however,  that  I 
met  him  most  frequently,  and  had  the  best  opportunities 
to  study  his  character.  As  a  senator  he  was  industrious, 
conscientious,  and  never  left  any  of  his  public  duties  un 
done,  as  is  the  almost  universal  and  very  pernicious  habit  of 
the  average  senator  and  representative  of  the  present  day. 
He  was  proud  of  the  State  which  he  represented,  and  its 
humblest  citizens,  who  might  visit  the  metropolis,  were 
treated  with  the  utmost  consideration.  His  habits  were 
those  of  the  scholar  and  man  of  culture,  but  he  always 
had  a  pleasant  word  for  those  who  occupied  more  humble 
spheres  in  society.  As  a  presiding  officer  he  was  digni 
fied,  quick,  fully  posted  in  regard  to  all  parliamentary 
rules,  and  strictly  impartial  in  his  decisions.  For  the 
high-living  customs  of  Washington,  which  have  so  fre 
quently  brought  disgrace  upon  men  in  high  positions,  he 
had  a  perfect  abhorrence.  As  a  party  man  he  was  true  to 
principle,  and  had  the  boldness  and  the  integrity,  when 
necessary,  to  condemn  what  he  thought  wrong  in  the  con 
duct  of  his  own  party  ;  and  I  very  well  remember  his 
scathing  rebuke  of  a  certain  official  of  the  Senate,  whom 
he  had  discovered  to  be  directly  interested  in  a  measure 
which  had  passed  into  a  law  ostensibly  for  the  public  wel 
fare.  He  never  made  any  sanctimonious  professions,  but 
he  was  a  practical  believer  in  the  religion  of  the  Bible. 
"With  men  of  thought,  on  suitable  occasions,  he  delighted 
to  converse  upon  all  those  themes  which  naturally  attract 
the  true  statesman.  On  the  other  hand,  when  in  the  com 
pany  of  ladies,  and  the  occasion  was  suitable,  nothing 


282  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

delighted  him  more  than  to  have  a  frolic  in  the  way  of 
repartee,  when  his  pleasantries  and  harmless  wit  were 
sure  to  surprise  and  delight  all  who  happened  to  be 
present.  Generally  speaking,  his  conversation  was  sedate, 
however,  and  in  the  seat  of  the  Yice-President  often  cold 
and  solemn  ;  but  his  enjoyment  of  a  good  laugh  was  some 
thing  almost  unique,  convulsive  in  its  character,  arid  mag 
netic  in  its  effects  upon  others.  When  in  a  frolicsome 
mood  he  did  not  wait  for  something  ridiculous  to  give  him 
a  start,  and  a  description  which  I  once  heard  him  recite  of  a 
truly  fearful  railroad  accident  in  one  of  the  Southern  States, 
when  he  came  within  an  ace  of  being  killed,  was  as  good  as 
a  comedy.  In  all  particulars,  he  was  an  exalted  and  well- 
balanced  character,  and  his  death  was  a  national  calamity. 
The  correspondence  with  which  Mr.  Foster  honored  me 
during  our  long  acquaintance  was  quite  frequent ;  but  in 
looking  over  his  letters,  I  find  that  they  would  not  interest 
the  public,  or  throw  any  light  upon  his  character,  as  they 
are  all  connected  with  business  or  family  affairs.  I  regret 
this  circumstance  most  sincerely ;  but  I  have  no  doubt 
that  there  is  ample  correspondence  in  other  hands,  which 
will  be  utilized  in  any  memorial  of  his  life  which  may  be 
prepared  hereafter,  a  volume  for  private  circulation  having 
already  been  printed  by  his  second  and  surviving  wife. 


CHARLES   DICKENS   AND   WASHINGTON 
IRVING. 

THE  friendship  which  existed  between  these  two  dis 
tinguished  authors  was  intimate  and  long  continued,  and 
as  free  from  the  alloy  of  selfishness  as  anything  of  the 
kind  recorded  in  literary  history.  AVhat  little  I  happen 
to  know  concerning  their  kindly  feelings  for  each  other, 


CIIAKLES    DICKENS    AND    WASHINGTON    IKYING.  283 

and  now  propose  to  submit  to  the  public,  may  be  con 
sidered  as  a  happy  conclusion  to  the  story  of  their  inter- 
macy  as  contained  in  their  correspondence,  hitherto  pub 
lished. 

The  intercourse  between  them  commenced  in  184 1 ,  when 
Mr.  Irving  was  in  his  fifty-eighth  year,  and  Mr.  Dickens 
had  attained  precisely  half  that  number  of  years,  twenty- 
nine.  The  American  took  the  lead  and  wrote  a  letter 
expressing  his  heartfelt  delight  with  the  writings  of  the 
Englishman,  and  his  yearnings  toward  him.  The  reply 
was  minute,  impetuously  kind,  and  eminently  character 
istic.  "There  is  no  man  in  the  world,"  said  Mr.  Dick 
ens,  "who  would  have  given  me  the  heartfelt  pleasure 
you  have.  .  .  .  There  is  no  living  writer,  and  there  are 
very  few  among  the  dead,  whose  approbation  I  should  feel 
so  proud  to  earn.  And  with  everything  you  have  written 
upon  my  shelves,  and  in  my  thoughts  and  in  my  heart  of 
hearts,  I  may  honestly  and  truly  say  so.  If  you  could 
know  how  earnestly  I  write  this,  yon  would  be  glad  to  read 
it,  as  I  hope  you  will  be,  faintly  guessing  at  the  warmth 
of  the  hand  I  autobioyru^hkaUy  hold  out  to  you  over  the 
broad  Atlantic.  ...  I  have  been  so  accustomed  to  asso 
ciate  you  with  my  pleasantest  and  happiest  thoughts,  and 
with  my  leisure  hours,  that  I  rush  at  once  into  full  confi 
dence  with  you,  and  fall,  as  it  were  naturally,  and  by  the 
very  laws  of  gravity,  into  your  open  arms.  ...  I  cannot 
thank  you  enough  for  your  cordial  and  generous  praise,  or 
tell  you  what  deep  and  lasting  gratification  it  has  given 
me." 

In  the  winter  of  1842,  and  while  the  literary  public  of 
New  York  was  congratulating  Mr.  Irving  on  his  ap 
pointment  as  minister  to  Spain,  the  tide  of  excitement 
suddenly  turned  toward  Mr.  Dickens,  who  just  then 


284  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

arrived  in  the  city  of  Boston.  Then  it  was  that  the  two 
lions  first  met  face  to  face  ;  and  for  a  few  weeks,  at 
Smmyside,  and  in  the  delightful  literary  society  which  was 
a  striking  feature  of  New  York  life  at  that  time,  they  saw 
as  much  of  each  other  as  circumstances  would  allow.  Pro 
fessor  C.  C.  Felton,  in  his  remarks  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Irv 
ing,  before  the  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  gave 
us  some  interesting  recollections  of  this  winter  in  New 
York.  Among  other  things,  he  said:  "I  passed  much 
of  the  time  with  Mr.  Irving  and  Mr.  Dickens  ;  and  it  was 
delightful  to  witness  the  cordial  intercourse  of  the  young 
man,  in  the  flush  and  glory  of  his  fervid  genius,  and  his 
elder  compeer,  then  in  the  assured  possession  of  immortal 
renown.  Dickens  said,  in  his  frank,  hearty  manner,  that 
from  his  childhood  he  had  known  the  works  of  Irving  ;  and 
that  before  he  thought  of  coming  to  this  country,  he  had 
received  a  letter  from  him,  expressing  the  delight  he  felt 
in  reading  the  story  of  Little  Nell." 

But  the  crowning  event  of  the  winter  in  question  was 
the  great  dinner  given  to  Mr.  Dickens  by  his  admirers  at 
the  old  City  Hotel.  I  was  a  mere  boy  at  the  time,  a 
Pearl  Street  clerk,  but  through  the  kindness  of  certain 
friends  the  honor  was  granted  to  me  of  taking  a  look  from 
a  side  door  at  the  august  array  of  gifted  authors  before 
they  were  summoned  to  the  sumptuous  table.  It  was 
only  a  glimpse  that  I  enjoyed ;  but  while  Mr.  Irving,  as 
presiding  host,  was  sacrificing  his  sensitive  nature  for  the 
gratification  of  his  friend,  and  was,  by  breaking  down  in 
his  speech  of  welcome,  committing  the  only  failure  of 
his  life,  I  retired  to  the  quiet  of  my  attic  room,  and  spent 
nearly  the  whole  of  that  night  with  "  Little  Nell,"  the 
"  Broken  Heart,"  and  "  Marco  Bozzaris,"  and  drinking 
in  the  beauty  and  the  comforting  philosophy  of  "Thana- 


CHARLES   DICKENS   AND   WASHINGTON   IRVING.          285 

topsis,"  all  of  them  the  matchless  creations  of  authors 
whom  it  had  just  been  my  privilege  to  see.  The  little 
speech  which  Mr.  Dickens  delivered  on  that  occasion  was 
happy  in  the  extreme,  proving  not  only  that  he  was 
familiar  with  the  writings  of  Mr.  Irving,  but  that  he 
placed  the  highest  value  upon  them  ;  and  before  taking 
his  seat  he  submitted  the  following  toast:  "  The  Litera 
ture  of  America :  She  well  knows  how  to  honor  her  own 
literature,  to  do  honor  to  that  of  other  lands,  when  she 
chooses  Washington  Irving  as  her  representative  in  the 
country  of  Cervantes." 

Soon  after  the  New  York  dinner,  business  called  Mr. 
Irving  to  Washington,  and  Mr.  Dickens  made  his  arrange 
ments  to  be  there  at  the  same  time.  At  that  place  they 
renewed  their  friendly  intercourse,  laughed  together  at  the 
follies  of  the  politicians,  enjoyed  the  companionship  of 
the  great  triumvers,  Webster,  Clay,  and  Calhoun,  and 
were  of  course  victimized  at  the  President's  receptions. 
On  one  occasion  the  honors  were  certainly  divided  between 
the  two  authors  ;  and  while  we  know  that  Mr.  Dickens 
had  no  reason  to  complain  of  any  want  of  attention  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  it  is  pleasant  to  read  his  comments 
upon  the  conduct  of  the  assembled  company  toward  Mr. 
Irving.  '*  I  sincerely  believe,"  said  he  in  his  "  American 
Notes,"  "that  in  all  the  madness  of  American  politics, 
few  public  men  would  have  been  so  earnestly,  devotedly, 
and  affectionately  caressed  as  this  most  charming  writer  ; 
and  I  have  seldom  respected  a  public  assembly  more  than 
I  did  this  eager  throng,  when  I  saw  them  turning  with  one 
mind  from  noisy  orators  and  officers  of  state,  and  flock 
ing,  with  a  generous  and  honest  impulse,  around  the  man 
of  quiet  pursuits  ;  proud  in  his  promotion  as  reflected 
back  upon  their  country,  and  grateful  to  him  with  their 


286  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

whole  hearts  for  the  store  of  graceful  fancies  he  had 
poured  out  among  them."  From  Washington,  Mr.  Dick 
ens  went  upon  a  trip  to  Richmond,  and  on  his  return  he 
made  a  doubtful  appointment  to  meet  Mr.  Irving  in  Balti 
more,  and  to  that  meeting  I  shall  presently  recur.  In  the 
mean  time  I  must  quote  a  single  paragraph  from  a  letter 
that  he  wrote  as  a  reminder  to  Mr.  Irving  :  "  What  pleas 
ure  I  have  had  in  seeing  and  talking  with  you  I  will  not 
attempt  to  say.  I  shall  never  forget  it  as  long  as  I  live. 
What  icould  I  give  if  we  could  have  but  a  quiet  week  to 
gether  !  Spain  is  a  lazy  place,  and  its  climate  an  indolent 
one.  But  if  you  ever  have  leisure  under  its  sunny  skies 
to  think  of  a  man  who  loves  you,  and  holds  communion 
with  your  spirit  oftener,  perhaps,  than  any  other  person 
alive,  — leisure  from  listlessness  I  mean,  —  and  will  write 
to  me  in  London,  you  will  give  me  an  inexpressible 
amount  of  pleasure." 

In  1853  it  was  my  privilege  to  spend  a  day  with  Mr. 
Irving  during  his  last  visit  to  Washington,  and  in  an 
account  of  it  which  I  published  in  Once  a  Week,  in  Lon 
don,  occurs  the  following:  "He  touched  upon  literary 
men  generally,  and  a  bit  of  criticism  on  Thackeray  seemed 
to  me  full  of  meaning.  He  liked  the  novelist  as  a  lec 
turer  and  a  man,  and  his  books  were  capital.  Of  his 
novels  he  liked  '  Peudennis,'  most ;  '  Vanity  Fair '  was 
ful  of  talent,  but  many  passages  hurt  his  feelings ; 
1  Esmond '  he  thought  a  queer  affair,  but  deeply  interest 
ing.  Thackeray  had  quite  as  great  genius  as  Dickens, 
but  Dickens  was  genial  and  warm,  and  that  suited 
him." 

And  now  comes  a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  Mr.  Dick 
ens,  during  his  last  visit  to  this  country,  and  as  introduc 
tory  to  which  the  preceding  paragraphs  have  been  written. 


CHARLES    DICKENS   AND    WASHINGTON   IRVING.          287 

In  view  of  the  allusion  to  myself,  I  must  plead  the  saying 
that  i;  it  is  sometimes  almost  excusable  for  a  man  to 
commit  a  little  sin  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  greater 
rood." 


- 


WASHINGTON,  Feb.  5, 1868. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Allow  me  to  thank  you  most  cordially 
for  your  kind  letter  and  for  its  accompanying  books.  I 
have  a  particular  love  for  books  of  travel,  and  shall  wan 
der  into  the  tfc  Wilds  of  America"  with  great  interest.  I 
have  also  received  your  charming  sketch  with  great  plea 
sure  and  admiration.  Let  me  thank  you  for  it  heartily. 
As  a  beautiful  suggestion  of  nature,  associated  with  this 
country,  it  shall  have  a  quiet  place  on  the  walls  of  my 
house  as  long  as  I  live. 

Your  reference  to  my  dear  friend,  Washington  Irving, 
renews  the  vivid  impressions  reawakened  in  my  mind 
at  Baltimore  the  other  day.  I  saw  his  fine  face  for  the 
last  time  in  that  city.  He  came  there  from  New  York,  to 
pass  a  day  or  two  with  me  before  I  went  westward,  and 
they  were  made  among  the  most  memorable  of  my  life  by 
his  delightful  fancy  and  genial  humor.  Some  unknown 
admirer  of  his  books  and  mine  sent  to  the  hotel  a  most 
enormous  mint  julep,  wreathed  with  flowers.  We  sat, 
one  on  either  side  of  it,  with  great  solemnity  (it  filled  a 
respectable  sized  round  table) ,  but  the  solemnity  was  of 
very  short  duration.  It  was  quite  an  enchanted  julep, 
and  carried  us  among  innumerable  people  and  places  that 
we  both  knew.  The  julep  held  out  far  into  the  night,  and 
my  memory  never  saw  him  afterward  otherwise  than  as 
bending  over  it  with  his  straw  with  an  attempted  gravity 
(after  some  anecdote  involving  some  wonderfully  droll 
and  delicate  observation  of  character),  and  then,  as  his 


288  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

eye  caught  mine,  melting  into  that  captivating  laugh  of 
his,  which  was  the  brightest  and  best  I  have  ever  heard. 
Dear  sir,  with  many  thanks,  faithfully  yours, 

CHARLES  DICKENS. 

Mr.  R.  Shelton  Mackenzie,  in  a  pleasing  comment  on 
this  letter,  makes  this  remark:  "The  enchanted  julep 
was  a  gift  from  the  proprietor  of  Guy's  Hotel,  Baltimore, 
and,  '  having  held  out  far  into  the  night,'  must  have  been 
on  a  magnificent  scale  at  first ;  large  enough  for  Gog 
and  Magog,  were  they-  alive,  to  have  become  mellow 
upon.  George  Cruikshank  or  H.  L.  Stevens,  no  inferior 
should  dare  attempt  it,  might  win  additional  fame  by 
sketching  the  two  authors,  so  much  akin  in  genius  and 
geniality,  imbibing  the  generous,  mellifluous  fluid  from  a 
pitcher  which,  like  the  magic  purse  of  Fortuuatus,  seemed 
always  full." 

WILLIAM  A.  BUCKINGHAM. 

I  WOULD  throw  a  single  flower  upon  this  good  man's 
grave.  I  first  heard  of  his  illness  about  ten  days  before 
his  death,  and  my  first  impulse  was  to  write  to  him  a  sym 
pathizing  letter  ;  and  his  reply,  written  in  February,  1875, 
contained  the  following  paragraph  :  — 

Ci  My  nervous  system  has  become  very  much  prostrated  ; 
and,  while  I  cherish  the  hope  of  being  able  to  reach  Wash 
ington  before  the  close  of  the  present  session  of  Con 
gress,  yet  the  prospect  is  not  very  flattering." 

In  view  of  the  present  aspect  of  our  national  affairs,  I 
look  upon  the  death  of  such  a  man  as  a  great  calamity. 
He  was  an  honest  man,  pure,  unselfish,  clear-minded,  a 
lover  of  his  fellow-men,  charitable,  ever  influenced  by  lofty 


WILLIAM    A.    BUCKINGHAM.  289 

aspirations,  a  true  Christian,  an  eminently  useful  citizen, 
and  an  honor  to  his  State  and  country.  My  acquaintance 
with  hi  in,  began  when  I  was  a  boy  and  attended  a  Sunday 
school  in  Norwich,  Conn.,  of  which  he  was  for  many  years 
the  superintendent.  His  winning  manners  as  a  speaker, 
his  kind  admonitions  to  the  wayward  boys,  and  his  knowl 
edge  of  the  Bible,  all  made  such  a  deep  impression  on  my 
mind  that  I  have  never  forgotten  them  during  the  inter 
vening  forty  years.  Long  afterwards,  when  upon  a  trout- 
ing  expedition  among  the  hills  of  his  native  Lebanon,  I 
chanced  to  meet  him  under  the  roof  where  he  was  born ; 
and  I  well  remember  with  what  careful  consideration  he 
treated  his  aged  parents,  and,  by  his  presence,  filled  their 
home  with  sunshine,  which  home,  by  the  way,  the  light 
ning  had  a  chronic  habit  of  assaulting,  but  without  ever 
doing  any  special  harm. 

During  the  days  of  the  old  "Whig  party,  Mr.  Bucking 
ham  took  an  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  the  speeches  he 
was  wont  to  utter  always  had  the  ring  of  pure  metal ;  and 
his  influence,  which  was  paramount,  caused  him  to  be  fre 
quently  elected  mayor  of  Norwich.  For  a  short  time, 
when  he  kept  the  most  extensive  dry-goods  store  in  Nor 
wich,  I  was  one  of  his  clerks  ;  and  I  remember  that  his 
careful  and  upright  way  of  doing  business  was  most  influ 
ential,  both  within  and  without  his  establishment.  AVhen 
he  subsequently  became  eminently  successful  as  a  manu 
facturer,  he  spent  his  money  with  marvellous  liberality  in 
promoting  the  cause  of  religion  and  education,  and  in 
secretly  helping  the  deserving  poor.  As  one  of  the  "war 
governors  "  during  the  Rebellion,  he  had  no  superior  ;  and 
he  made  his  wisdom  and  patriotism  felt  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  laud.  As  a  senator,  he  was 
dignified,  kind,  always  anxious  to  be  right,  bold  in  follow- 
19 


290  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

ing  the  line  of  duty,  and  in  all  his  sympathies  was  far 
removed  from  the  crowd  of  common  partisans  and  dema 
gogues. 

The  good  deeds  of  this  departed  man  might  be  counted 
by  the  hundred,  but  his  negative  qualities  will  be  remem 
bered  to  his  credit.  He  was  too  unsuspecting  in  his  na 
ture  to  be  useful  in  that  extensive  department  of  modern 
American  legislation  known  as  investigating  committees ; 
he  never  used  his  influence  as  a  public  man  to  put  money 
in  his  own  pockets  or  those  of  his  family  and  friends  ;  he 
was  not  one  of  those  who  could  take  pleasure  in  any  kind  of 
fashionable  debauchery  ;  nor  was  he  one  of  those  men  who 
pretend  to  be  what  they  are  not,  or  to  know  about  tilings 
of  which  they  are  ignorant ;  he  never  delivered  speeches 
when  he  had  nothing  to  say  ;  and  long,  commonplace  rig 
maroles,  permeated  with  the  narrow  spirit  of  the  dema 
gogue,  were  things  for  which  he  had  a  holy  horror.  It 
would  seem  as  if,  for  the  sake  of  our  country,  such  men 
as  Senator  Buckingham  "  should  be  living  at  this  hour"  ; 
and  the  conclusion  of  Wordsworth's  sonnet  on  Milton  was 
as  applicable  to  the  unpretending  but  highly  honored 
American  citizen,  as  it  was  to  the  great  poet :  — 

"  So  didst  thou  travel  on  life's  common  way, 
In  cheerful  godliness  ;  and  yet  thy  heart 
The  lowliest  duties  on  herself  did  lay." 


JOHN   F.    T.    CRAMPTON. 

NUMEROUS  and  very  pleasant  are  the  recollections  which 
I  cherish  of  this  accomplished  man.  He  first  came  to 
Washington  as  charge  d'affaires,  from  England,  in  1847; 
was  subsequently  made  a  full  minister,  received  the  honor 


JOHN   F.    T.    CRAMPTON.  291 

of  knighthood,  and  after  an  honorable  career  in  Russia 
and  in  Spain,  was  retired  upon  a  pension,  and  settled  in 
his  native  Ireland  for  the  balance  of  his  days.  His 
father,  Philip  Crainpton,  was  an  eminent  surgeon  in 
Ireland,  and  he  had  a  brother  who  stood  high  as  a  clergy 
man  in  the  Established  Church  of  England. 

I  became  acquainted  with  him  in  IHoO,  at  Mr.  Webster's 
table,  and  I  was  perhaps  the  last  friend  who  shook  his 
hand  prior  to  his  sudden  departure  from  Washington. 
The  fact  that  we  were  both  fond  of  fishing  and  of  paint 
ing  drew  us  together  from  the  start,  and  both  of  those 
pursuits  we  enjoyed  in  company  during  his  entire  sojourn 
in  this  country.  If  I  could  pilot  him  to  the  best  pools  in 
the  Potomac  for  fly-fishing,  he,  on  the  other  hand,  had  the 
power  of  rewarding  me  in  a  princely  manner  by  his  con 
versation  on  the  fine  arts  ;  but  as  to  the  sketching  grounds 
where  we  studied  nature,  I  think  our  discoveries  were 
about  equal,  for  he  was  a  famous  explorer  of  retired  and 
beautiful  nooks  in  the  local  scenery.  On  many  occasions, 
when  the  weather  was  favorable,  we  visited  the  Little 
Falls  before  breakfast  (and  once,  I  remember,  he  cap 
tured  not  less  than  thirty  rock-fish)  ;  on  the  afternoon  of 
the  same  day  we  have  taken  a  drive  in  his  open  carriage, 
and  each  produced  a  sketch ;  and  in  the  evening  would 
follow  an  elegant  dinner  at  the  legation,  and  a  long  and, 
to  me,  very  instructive  conversation  upon  art,  illustrated 
with  his  treasures  in  the  way  of  engravings,  etchings, 
drawings,  and  paintings.  His  ability  as  an  artist  was  re 
markable,  and  he  produced  water-color  drawings  and  oil 
paintings  with  equal  facility,  and  that  facility  was  great, 
lie  painted  pictures  chiefly  for  the  pleasure  the  employ 
ment  afforded,  and  I  have  seen  him  destroy  his  productions 
by  the  dozen ;  and  among  the  pictures  which  I  now 


292  HAPHAZARD    PERSON ALITIES. 

possess,  and  which  I  rescued  from  the  floor  of  his  studio, 
I  may  mention  a  seaside  and  a  view  of  Killarney  in  water 
colors,  two  market-women  in  the  rain,  and  a  portrait  of 
himself  in  oil.  The  only  things  from  his  own  pencil 
which  he  seemed  to  value  were  a  series  of  effects  in  color 
which  he  had  copied  from  the  old  masters  in  the  leading- 
galleries  of  Europe. 

The  state  dinners  which  Mr.  Crampton  gave  were  grand 
affairs  ;  big  men,  senators  and  foreign  diplomats,  attended 
them,  and  of  course  they  were  often  stupid ;  but  the 
private  dinners  were  enjoyable.  It  was  at  one  of  these 
that  I  met  young  Bulwer,  before  he  had  blossomed  into  a 
poet  as  Owen  Meredith;  he  was  at  that  time  an  attache  to 
the  legation,  and  when  I  afterwards  read  his  first  book  of 
poetry,  I  was  simply  astonished,  for  I  had  not  anticipated 
a  mind  of  such  strength  in  such  a  quiet  little  body  as  he 
had  appeared  to  me  ;  and  when  I  afterwards  saw  him  ga 
zetted  as  the  viceroy  of  India,  and  head  and  front  of  the 
Afghanistan  war,  my  amazement  knew  no  bounds.  That 
all  the  world  do  not  think  him  a  great  man  is  proven 
by  the  fact  that  the  erratic  poet,  Swinburne,  calls  him 
"  Pretty  little  Lytton,  with  his  muse  in  muff  and  mitten." 
The  two  gentlemen  who  acted  as  Mr.  Crampton's  chief 
secretaries,  during  his  residence  in  Washington,  were  John 
Savile  Lumley  and  Philip  (iriffith,  both  of  whom  have 
since  distinguished  themselves  in  the  diplomatic  service. 
The  first  was  an  artist  and  an  angler,  and  accompanied 
me  in  one  of  my  fishing  tours  to  New  Brunswick.  Mr. 
Griffith  was  a  man  of  high  culture  and  distinguished  for 
his  conversational  powers. 

Among  the  men  of  note  whom  I  met  at  Mr.  Crampton's 
table  was  Sir  Edmund  Head,  whom  I  had  seen  before  at 
Frederickton,  New  Brunswick,  and  from  whom  I  had  re- 


JOHN    F.    T.    CRAM1TON.  203 

ceived  some  favors  bearing  upon  the  salmon  streams  of 
the  Province.  He  was  fond  of  art,  and  an  adept  with 
the  pencil ;  and  one  day,  after  he  had  been  looking  over 
my  sketches  from  nature,  he  joined  Mr.  Crampton  in  com 
plimenting  them,  and  told  this  truth,  —  that  my  finished 
pictures  did  not  by  any  means  equal  my  studies  in  the 
fields  and  woods.  Some  of  my  autumn  subjects  he  fan 
cied  in  particular,  and  my  vanity  was  such,  at  the  moment, 
that  I  told  him  to  help  himself  to  all  he  wanted.  He 
promptly  and  cordially  complied  with  my  request ;  and 
since  then  I  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  regret  my  fit 
of  liberality,  although  glad  that  anything  from  my  pencil 
should  have  been  taken  to  England. 

Among  the  hobbies  that  Mr.  Crampton  employed  to 
gratify  his  taste,  while  in  this  country,  was  the  forming 
of  a  collection  of  European  caricatures  ;  and  when  W.  M. 
Thackeray  was  in  Washington,  two  large  boxes  of  these 
comical  pictures  were  received  by  Mr.  Crampton,  and  the 
novelist  was  present  at  the  opening.  Fresh  as  he  was 
from  London,  Mr.  Thackeray  found  many  things  in  this 
collection  which  he  had  never  before  seen  ;  and,  for  two 
days,  he  devoted  almost  his  entire  time  to  their  examina 
tion.  The  result  was,  that  at  a  subsequent  dinner,  given 
by  Mr.  Crampton,  the  deponent  enjoyed  a  most  learned 
and  entertaining  conversation,  between  the  host  and  his 
distinguished  guest,  on  the  history  of  pictorial  sarcasm  ; 
and,  in  a  few  months  thereafter,  an  article  made  its 
appearance  on  the  subject,  in  one  of  the  British  quarter 
lies,  from  the  pen  of  the  celebrated  wit  and  novelist. 
Another  thing  which  attracted  the  special  attention  of  Mr. 
Thackeray,  during  his  visit  to  the  metropolis,  was  the 
residence  itself  of  Mr.  Crampton,  on  the  Heights  of 
Georgetown.  The  building  was  large,  and  had  all  the 


204  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

comforts  of  an  old-fashioned  mansion  ;  and  it  stood  in  the 
midst  of  a  grove  of  splendid  oak-trees,  commanding  a 
superb  view  of  Washington  and  the  broad  bosom  of  the 
Potomac.  It  was  for  many  years  the  home  of  the  hitj 
John  Carter.  After  Mr.  Crampton  left  it,  it  was  occupied 
by  the  French  ministers,  Count  Sartiges  and  JM.  Merck>r, 
having  been  burned  while  in  the  possession  of  the  latter, 
and  the  locality  became  the  property  of  Henry  D.  Cooke, 
the  governor  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

The  art  treasures  which  Mr.  Crampton  delighted  to 
gather  around  him  consisted  chiefly,  as  already  intimated, 
of  line  engravings,  etchings,  and  water-color  drawings. 
His  engravings  were  numerous,  some  of  them  exceedingly 
fine  ;  but  the  entire  collection  was  not  equal  to  that  which 
formerly  belonged  to  George  P.  Marsh ;  his  collection  of 
etchings,  however,  was  unsurpassed  in  this  country,  and 
was  especially  rich  in  Kembrandts  ;  and  in  the  way  of 
water-colors,  his  collection  was  very  valuable  and  rare. 
His  favorites  were  David  Cox  and  Copeley  Fielding,  and 
he  owned  some  of  their  best  productions.  The  arrival  of 
a  new  picture  from  England,  for  he  was  constantly  re 
ceiving  them,  was  quite  an  important  event  at  the  lega 
tion,  and  connected  with  one  of  them  I  have  this  anecdote. 
On  the  day  it  was  received,  Mr.  Crampton  wrote  me, 
"  The  David  Cox  is  arrived,  and  my  cook  has  discovered 
a  live  lobster,  which  I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  partake  of 
in  the  shape  of  a  salad,  at  seven  o'clock  this  evening." 
I  went,  and  almost  the  first  thing  he  told  me  was  the  story 
of  the  unpacking.  At  the  moment  the  picture  was  taken 
out  of  the  box  at  the  front  door,  one  of  our  stalwart 
Western  senators  made  his  appearance,  rolling  up  in  a 
splendid  carriage  with  coachman  in  livery.  lie  looked  at 
the  picture  and  was  greatly  pleased  ;  he  thought  it  the 


JOHN    F.    T.    CKAM1TON.  295 

finest  colored  engraving  he  had  ever  seen,  and  as  he  pre 
sumed  they  could  be  obtained  for  about  ten  dollars  eaeh, 
he  asked  Mr.  Crampton  to  order  three  or  four  of  these 
pictures,  as  they  would  *•  look  beautiful "  in  his  wife's  best 
parlor.  Now  the  picture  which  had  inspired  this  wonder 
ful  liberality  from  the  "Yahoo,"  represented  a  lonely 
scene  among  the  mountains  of  Wales,  with  two  bulls 
about  to  meet  in  a  combat ;  and  the  sum  paid  for  it, 
by  Mr.  Crampton,  was  one  thousand  dollars.  The  fear 
ful  ignorance  of  that  American  senator  would  have  been 
startling  even  in  a  flashy  novel. 

Mr.  Crampton's  admiration  of  that  English  master  was 
most  intense ;  the  simplicity  of  his  subjects  and  his  bold 
handling  were  all  that  could  be  desired ;  and  yet  his  love 
of  Copeley  Fielding  was  intense,  and  the  second  place  of 
honor  in  his  drawing-room  was  assigned  to  that  artist,  and 
to  a  magnificent  coast  scene  with  passing  storm.  Mr. 
Crampton's  idea  of  pictures  was  that  they  should  be  so 
painted  that  they  could  be  enjoyed  from  a  distance,  even 
from  a  chair  in  the  centre  of  the  room.  He  also  admired 
the  coarse  brown  paper  upon  which  Cox  painted,  and  he 
repeated  some  amusing  comments  uttered  by  a  London 
tradesman,  who  had  laughed  at  the  idea  of  selling  his 
trashy  paper  to  the  great  artist. 

The  notes  and  letters  which  I  received  from  Mr.  Cramp- 
ton  were  numerous  ;  and,  whilst  I  would  not  overstep  the 
bounds  of  propriety,  I  will  venture  to  submit  in  this  place 
a  few  characteristic  sentences. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  introduce  a  brother  sportsman, 
inclosed."  (This  was  in  allusion  to  a  splendid  book  on 
"Salmon  Fishing  in  Ireland,"  written  and  printed  for 
private  circulation,  by  a  friend  of  his  named  O'Gor- 
mau.) 


2D6  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

"  I  send  you  the  '  Calderon  Cigtirs '  and  tlie  rest  of  the 
books  ;  and  would  be  obliged  if  you  would  let  me  look  at 
Harding's  '  Elementary  Art.'  " 

"4  Mr.  Perley  and  his  son  dine  with  me  to-day  at  seven 
o'clock  ;  and  I  should  be  very  glad  if  you  would  join  the 
party,  in  order  that  we  may  have  some  '  fish  talk.' " 

' '  I  should  be  delighted  to  go  on  any  fishing  or  sketch 
ing  excursion  to-day.  I  can  start  at  any  time  you  like." 

"  I  will  be  ready  at  four  o'clock  to-morrow  morning." 

"Give  me  the  pleasure  of  your  company  to  dinner  at 
six  o'clock,  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  show  you  some  more 
of  the  etchings.  I  caught  six  handsome  rock-fish,  last 
evening,  with  the  fly." 

' 4 1  have  great  pleasure  in  sending  you  a  letter  of  intro 
duction  to  Lord  Elgin  (the  result  of  which  is  elsewhere 
recorded),  who;  I  am  sure,  will  do  all  he  can  to  forward 
your  views  and  proceedings,  artistical  and  piscatorial,  in 
Canada.  I  sincerely  envy  you  your  trip." 

"  I  return  you  the  manuscript,  which  I  would  correct  by 
blotting  out  some  of  the  too  flattering  expressions  of  the 
dedication  ;  however,  we  have  the  authority  of  old  Izaak 
Walton  for  the  exaltation  of  anglers  ;  for  you  recollect 
he  says,  after  giving  a  receipt  for  cooking  a  fish,  '  This  is 
a  dish  of  meat  fit  only  for  kings  —  or  anglers.'  Will  you 
help  me  eat  an  English  pheasant  at  seven  o'clock?"  etc. 

Between  Mr.  Crampton  and  Mr.  Webster  there  existed 
a  most  cordial  intimacy,  and  I  presume  it  is  no  secret  that 
our  secretary  had  much  to  do  with  the  promotion  of  his 
friend  to  the  rank  of  minister  plenipotentiary.  It  wns  a 
letter  which  Mr.  Webster  wrote  to  Lord  Palmerston  that 
probably  did  the  business  ;  but,  of  course,  the  British  gov 
ernment  was  quite  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  honor  was 
well  merited. 


JOHN   F.    T.    CKAMPTON.  21)7 

During  the  suiiiiiier  preceding  liis  death,  Mr.  Webster 
invited  Mr.  Cnunpton  to  visit  Marshfield  '"  with  as  many 
adjuncts  as  he  pleased."  The  object  of  this  meeting  was  to 
consult  about  the  fishery  questions  which  threatened  trouble  ; 
and  the  minister  and  his  secretary,  Mr.  Griffith,  were  prompt 
in  accepting  the  invitation.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be 
at  Marshfield  at  the  time  ;  and,  for  about  a  fortnight,  the 
twelfth  sign  of  the  zodiac  was  complete  master  of  the  situa 
tion.  With  Mr.  Crump  ton,  early  on  one  particular  morning, 
I  caught  trout  in  a  neighboring  stream.  During  the  middle 
of  the  day,  all  the  visitors  joined  Mr.  Webster  and  Seth 
Peterson  in  a  sail  over  the  blue  waters  to  the  haddock  or 
codfish  grounds  ;  and  during  the  evening,  at  dinner,  or  on 
the  piazza,  fish  stories  and  serious  talk  about  the  threat 
ened  troubles  with  Canada  were  the  order  of  the  time. 

With  Mr.  Everett,  during  his  brief  service  as  Secretary 
of  State,  Mr.  Crampton  was  also  intimate  ;  but  between 
him  and  the  next  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Marcy,  there 
was  no  intimacy  and  no  friendship.  With  all  his  ability 
and  knowledge  of  books,  Mr.  Marcy  was  really  nothing 
but  a  politician  ;  and  this  was  proven  by  his  oflicial  treat 
ment  of  Mr.  Crampton  on  account  of  the  alleged  enlist 
ment  of  men  in  this  country  for  the  Crimean  war.  That 
Mr.  Crampton  left  Washington  suddenly  and  in  disgust  is 
not  to  be  questioned  ;  and  the  last  thing  that  he  did  before 
his  departure  was  to  present  me  with  his  whole  stock  of 
fishing  tackle  and  much  of  his  studio  furniture.  It  was 
the  opinion  of  Mr.  George  Ticknor  that  the  British  minis 
try  was  responsible  for  that  enlistment  business,  not  Mr. 
Crampton  ;  and  he  has  reported  the  following  character 
istic  opinion,  uttered  by  one  of  Mr.  Crampton's  particular 
friends:  '••Thackeray,  who  has  a  strong  personal  regard 
for  him,  was  outrageous  on  the  matter,  and  cursed  the 


298  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

ministry,  by  all  his  gods,  for  milking  him,  as  he  said,  their 
scapegoat." 

But  my  recollections  of  Mr.  Crampton  are  so  intimately 
associated  with  his  two  official  friends,  that  I  must  allude 
to  them  again  Mr.  Griffith  first  came  to  Washington 
as  secretary  of  legation,  had  full  charge  for  about  one 
year,  and  was  subsequently  transferred  to  Brazil  as  charye 
d'affaires.  He  was  a  most  genial  and  accomplished  man, 
and  very  fond  of  riding ;  and  I  remember  that,  during  one 
of  my  rides  in  his  company,  he  told  me  that  if  a  man  who 
was  obliged  to  travel  on  horseback  in  the  rain  would  care 
fully  keep  his  knees  covered  with  a  leathern  pad,  it  would 
greatly  add  to  his  comfort,  and  keep  him  from  taking  cold. 
A  very  beautiful  bronze  inkstand  which  he  presented  to  me 
I  have  had  in  constant  use  for  the  third  of  a  century. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Lumley,  he  also  had  charge  of  the 
Washington  legation  for  a  time,  and  was  so  rapidly  pro 
moted  that  he  was  the  British  envoy  to  Saxon}',  Switzer 
land,  Belgium,  and  Spain.  Having  been  interested  in 
some  of  my  salmon-fishing  adventures,  he  proposed  to 
accompany  me  on  one  of  my  expeditions  to  the  Nepisiquit 
in  New  Brunswick.  After  we  had  been  on  the  river  for 
about  a  week,  and  domiciled  in  a  log-camp  which  had 
been  built  for  me  during  a  previous  summer,  I  was  obliged 
to  leave  on  account  of  sickness,  and  return  home ;  and 
among  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  me  from  the  wilder 
ness  soon  afterwards  were  the  following,  preceded  by  one 
from  Washington  :  — 

WASHINGTON,  June  22, 1853. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  been  absent  for  a  few  days,  and 
on  my  return  found  your  very  kind  letter,  which  will 
account  for  my  not  having  answered  it  before.  Unfortu- 


JOHN    F.    T.    CRAMPTON.  299 

nately,  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  accept  your  most  amiable 
invitation  to  pass  a  few  days  with  you  at  Norwich  ;  nothing 
could  have  given  me  greater  pleasure,  but  Mr.  Crampton's 
absence  renders  it  impossible  for  me  to  leave  till  his  re 
turn.  I  expect  him  here  on  Sunday,  and  on  Monday,  the 
2f>th,  shall  take  my  departure  for-New  York  and  Boston, 
where  I  shall  be  on  the  27th,  one  day  before  the  appointed 
time.  I  have  been  out  fishing  twice  since  I  saw  you,  and 
the  last  time  was  unfortunate  enough  to  break  the  top 
joint  of  my  Georgetown  rod.  I  shall  try  and  get  one  for 
it  in  New  York  or  Boston.  My  bag  and  rods  start  to 
morrow  by  Adams  Express  for  Boston.  I  have  fixed  my 
paint  box  as  nearly  like  yours  as  possible,  only  mine  is 
lighter.  Cramp  ton,  I  find,  is  thinking  of  going  to  England, 
bo  that  it  is  possible  I  may  receive  a  telegraphic  message  at 
Bathurst,  before  our  fishing  excursion  is  over.  I  sincerely 
hope  not,  however.  Pray  present  my  best  respects  to  Mrs. 
Laiiiuaii ;  and  believe  me,  my  dear  sir, 

Yours,  very  sincerely, 

J.  SAVILE  LUMLEY. 

CAMP  AT  PAPIXEAIT  FALLS. 

My  dear  Lanman,  —  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for 
your  note  and  the  despatch  which  it  contained,  as  well  for 
as  my  reel,  which  is  capitally  fixed.  I  greatly  regret,  how 
ever,  that  you  should  be  obliged  to  leave  just  at  th.» 
moment  when  the  sport  appears  likely  to  be  good  and  the 
mosquitoes  less  troublesome,  and  still  more  to  be  deprived 
of  the  pleasure  of  your  society.  We  have  succeeded  in 
circumventing  our  worst  enemies,  the  mosquitoes,  by  light 
ing  an  immense  fire  at  the  back  of  the  camp  and  three 
others  in  front,  and  cleared  them  out  so  effectually  that  we 


300  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

were  able  to  sleep  without  veils  and  smoke  in  the  camp. 
This  morning  I  went  out,  after  a  most  perfect  night's  rest, 
and  killed  a  grilse  before  breakfast ;  the  day  is,  however, 
so  wet  that  I  shall  remain  for  the  rest  of  the  day  under 
my  mosquito  net. 

Of  course,  as  you  have  been  obliged  to  quit  the  river  so 
soon,  I  cannot  allow  you  to  pay  for  any  portion  of  the  pro 
visions,  etc.  ;  but  I  shall  be  much  obliged  if  you  will  let 
me  know,  by  return  of  post,  the  exact  arrangement  that 
you  made  with  Young,  —  how  much  a  day,  and  whether 
he  and  his  sons  are  engaged  by  the  day  or  the  month.  I 
have  paid  Oliver  and  Joe  Vino  three  dollars  between 
them,  which  I  suppose  was  your  intention  ;  the  latter  does 
not  seem  to  be  satisfied.  I  should  also  wish  to  know  how 
much  you  agreed  to  pay  the  cook,  and  what  the  postman 
is  to  receive  each  time  he  comes  up  from  Bathurst.  I 
shall  remain  here  probably  till  Thursday  or  Friday,  and 
then  go  up  to  the  Grand  Falls  with  Mr.  Rogers,  stopping 
at  the  Chain  of  Rocks  or  Middle  Landing  on  the  way.  I 
hear  that  Lilly's  men  —  and  the  people  who  accompanied 
the  other  party  up  to  the  Falls  —  have  fallen  out  and  quar 
relled,  so  that  things  are  not  likely  to  be  improved  by  the 
arrival  of  seven  men  more  ;  and  I  think  we  shall  come  back 
to  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  mosquitoes  of  Papineau  Falls. 
Mr.  Rogers  wants  to  go  to  the  Falls  of  St.  John,  by  the 
Restigouche  and  the  Tobique  ;  and  I  shall  probably  accom 
pany  him,  if  not  summoned  to  Washington.  Mr.  Boyd 
hooked  two  salmon,  and  took  both  ;  so  that,  in  fact,  I  have 
caught  more  than  any  one  else,  except  yourself.  With 
many  thanks  for  all  the  information  you  have  so  kindly 
furnished  me  with,  believe  me,  my  dear  Lanman, 
Yours  very  truly, 

J.  S.  LUMLEY. 


JOHN   F.    T.    CRAMPTON.  301 

LANMAN'S  CAMP,  PAPINEAU  FALLS, 
July  10, 1855. 

My  dear  Lanman,  — A  heavy  rain  has  so  filled  the  river 
that  it  has  put  a  stop  to  all  sport  at  present.  I  remain, 
however,  in  the  same  obstinate  frame  of  mind  as  when 
you  left,  and  am  determined  to  remain  here  until  the 
river  is  in  proper  state  to  give  me  a  chance  of  winning 
some  piscatorial  laurels.  The  mosquitoes,  after  having 
given  us  one  day's  grace,  have  returned  to  the  attack  with 
greater  violence  than  ever ;  what  makes  me,  however, 
much  more  uncomfortable  is  the  position  in  which  I  found 
myself  towards  Mr.  Rogers.  Of  course,  after  your  hav 
ing  welcomed  him  to  the  camp,  the  least  I  could  do  after 
you  had  given  it,  or  willed  it,  as  you  said  to  me,  I  could  do 
no  less  than  give  him  the  same  welcome  to  it,  and  to  our 
camp  at  the  Falls.  I  now  find,  however,  that  he  considers 
you  to  have  made  him  a  present  of  the  camp  ;  and,  after 
having  invited  him  to  be  my  guest,  I  find  he  considers  me  to 
be  his  guest.  AVe  are  on  perfectly  amicable  terms,  but  it  has 
produced  an  awkward  feeling  in  my  mind,  which  I  cannot 
get  over,  until  I  hear  from  you  the  real  state  of  the  case. 
I  suppose  that  you  said  he  was  welcome  to  the  camp  in 
the  sense  of  a  guest,  but  he  evidently  took  it  in  another 
sense ;  and  in  such  a  sense  that  I  fancy  he  would  not  be 
satisfied  to  the  contrary,  unless  he  saw,  in  black  and  white 
in  your  own  writing,  that  you  had  given  it  to  me,  but  had 
welcomed  him  to  it,  which  I  suppose  was  your  real  inten 
tion.  Pray  pardon  me  for  troubling  you  on  this  head, 
which  I  should  not  do  did  T  not  feel  myself  in  a  false 
position.  Pray  remember  me  to  Mrs.  Lanman,  and  believe 
me,  most  sincerely,  your  very  mosquito-bitten  friend, 

J.  SAVILK  LUMLEY. 


302  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

GRAND  FALLS,  July  22, 1855. 

My  dear  Lanman,  —  I  arrived  here  last  night,  having 
killed  one  grilse  before  leaving  the  Papineau  Falls  in  the 
morning,  and  one  grilse,  and  one  salmon  of  eleven  pounds, 
at  the  Middle  Landing.  I  broke  my  rod  there,  and  pushed 
on  to  the  chain  of  rocks,  intending  to  pass  the  night  there, 
but  found  the  mosquitoes  so  numerous,  so  large,  and  so 
hungry,  that  I  was  forced  to  beat  a  rapid  retreat.  I  came 
through  the  rapids  of  the  Middle  Landing  in  the  canoe,  as  I 
wanted  to  see  how  it  behaved  in  rough  water,  and  was 
delighted  with  it.  I  met  Mr.  Lilly,  fishing  at  the  chain  of 
rocks,  and  he  told  me  that  they  had  not  had  a  single 
good  day's  fishing  till  Monday  last ;  that  the  pools  had 
been  so  full  that  there  was  no  doing  anything  ;  so  that  on 
the  whole  I  was  well  pleased  at  remaining  below,  where  I 
killed,  all  together,  live  salmon  and  six  grilse,  besides  a 
host  of  fine  trout. 

This  morning  I  left  the  camp  at  7  A.  M.,  and  went 
straight  to  the  Grand  Falls,  which  I  had  all  to  myself  ;  and, 
in  little  more  than  an  hour,  killed  three  fine  salmon  trout, 
and  one  salmon  of  thirteen  pounds.  The  fish  were  not 
rising  freely,  and  I  laid  my  rod  down  and  made  a  couple  of 
sketches  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  was  hard  at 
work  when  Rogers's  canoe  came  to  tell  me  that  an  express 
had  arrived  with  an  important  letter  for  me.  Making  cer 
tain  that  it  was  my  recall,  I  could  not  help  congratulating 
myself  on  having  seen  and  sketched  the  Falls  ;  but  on  ar 
riving  at  the  camp,  I  was  most  agreeably  surprised  at  re 
ceiving  from  Sever  your  letter  of  the  14th  inst.  I  was  very 
sorry  to  hear  that  you  are  still  suffering  from  the  waters  of 
the  River  of  Foam  ;  but  I  hope  by  this  time  that  your  native 
air  will  have  restored  you  to  perfect  health.  I  am  very 
much  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  invitation  to  pay  you 


JOHN    F.    T.    C'RAMPTON.  303 

a  visit  on  my  return,  and,  if  I  am  not  sent  for  in  a  hurry, 
I  will  not  fail  to  avail  myself  of  it.  The  open  camp  at  the 
Grand  Falls  is  perfect, — fine  air,  rather  cold  at  night, 
however,  thanks  to  which  we  have  scarcely  any  mosqui 
toes  ;  so  that  T  slept  last  night  without  mosquito  curtain  01 
any  other  protection  than  my  shawl.  The  water  is  perfect* 
and  there  is  a  stillness  and  repose  about  the  whole  place 
which  is  charming  ;  the  river  steals  along  in  mysterious 
silence  at  the  foot  of  the  steep  bank  on  which  our  camp 
is  placed,  contrasting  strongly  with  the  noisy  rush  ot 
the  waters  of  Papineau,  where  I  could  almost  fancy  1 
heard  the  bustle  of  a  populous  city.  I  am  not  going  to  tha 
Restigouche,  as  Rogers  starts  on  Tuesday  ;  but  if  the  flies 
are  not  too  bad  I  may  go  up  to  the  lakes  at  the  head 
of  the  river,  and  down  the  Tobique  to  St.  John's  Falls 
alone.  There  is  so  much  to  draw,  however,  here,  that  if 
the  flies  continue  as  amicable  as  they  now  are,  I  may  have 
a  chance  of  painting  a  careful  sketch  of  the  Falls,  in 
which  case  I  should  remain  here  a  fortnight,  and  then 
start  for  the  States.  Believe  me,  dear  Lanman, 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.   S.  LUMLEY. 

Mr.  Lumley's  skill  as  an  artist  was  perhaps  not  equal 
to  that  of  Mr.  Crampton  ;  but  many  of  his  sketches  from 
nature  were  really  exquisite.  While  regretting  that  the 
trio  of  noble  British  gentlemen,  just  mentioned,  have  long 
been  beyond  my  ken,  the  many  very  happy  days  that  I  was 
privileged  to  spend  in  their  society  will  long  be  treasured 
among  my  choicest  memories. 


304:  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 


SAMUEL   TYLER. 

HAVING  been  requested  by  the  family  of  the  late  Samuel 
Tyler,  of  Maryland,  to  prepare  his  life  and  letters  for 
publication,  I  cheerfully  consented  to  do  so ;  and  all  the 
available  materials  were  placed  in  my  hands.  As  to  when 
that  labor  can  be  accomplished,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
say,  because  of  the  pressure  of  my  ordinary  duties.  It 
has  occurred  to  me,  however,  that  I  might,  with  propriety, 
give  the  public  a  foretaste  of  what  they  may  hereafter 
expect,  and  hence  the  subjoined  sketch  of  my  friend's 
antecedents  as  a  philosopher,  a  lawyer,  and  author. 

He  was  born  on  the  22d  of  October,  1809,  in  Prince 
George's  County,  Maryland,  on  the  estate  where  his  father, 
Graf  ton  T\Tler,  and  his  ancestors  resided  for  several  gen 
erations.  His  brother,  Dr.  Graf  ton  Tyler,  two  years  his 
junior,  and  long  a  distinguished  physician  in  Georgetown, 
I).  C.,  and  he  were  the  only  children  of  their  parents; 
and,  until  he  was  twelve  years  of  age  the  twain  attended 
school  near  the  patrimonial  home  ;  after  which  they  were 
sent  to  a  school  in  Georgetown,  D.  C.,  kept  by  Dr.  James 
Carnahan,  who  was  soon  afterwards  elected  president  of 
Princeton  College.  The  position  vacated  by  Dr.  Carnahan 
was  filled  by  the  Rev.  James  McVean,  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  It  was  to  this  excellent  man  that  Mr.  Tyler 
felt  himself  indebted  for  most  of  the  instruction  he  ever 
received  from  a  teacher,  which  was  of  any  value  ;  and  he 
manifested  his  gratitude  by  joining  his  brother  and  other 
pupils  in  erecting  a  monument  over  the  grave  of  their 
friend  and  teacher.  Mr.  Tyler  thought  him  the  best  Latin 
and  Greek  scholar  he  had  ever  known,  and  said  of  him 


SAMUEL  TYLEII.  :in;, 

that,  with  fatherly  pride  and  kindness,  he  labored  to  make 
his  pupils  scholars  like  himself.  During  the  last  eight 
months  of  his  schooling  in  Georgetown,  Mr.  Tyler  studied 
Greek  at  least  fourteen  hours  of  every  day.  The  Greek 
modes  of  thought  became  his  own  ;  and  he  was  far  more 
familiar  with  Greek  literature  than  with  the  English.  The 
class  to  which  he  and  his  brother  belonged  was  called 
"The  Tenth  Legion."  Besides  composition  in  English, 
Latin,  and  Greek,  public  speaking,  and  some  mathematics, 
the  classic  languages  were  their  chief  study. 

He  remained  in  this  school  until  October,  1827,  when 
he  was  strangely  persuaded  to  go  to  Middlebury  College, 
in  Vermont ;  but  he  remained  there  only  one  quarter, 
having  found  the  scholarship  of  the  classes  in  the  college 
very  far  below  the  private  school  of  Georgetown.  At 
Christmas  he  went  out  to  Lake  Champlain,  to  amuse  him 
self  by  hunting,  hoping  that,  after  a  while,  he  might  feel 
like  returning  to  the  college  ;  but  he  was  out  of  his 
element,  and  soon  returned  to  his  home  in  Maryland. 

Though  conscious  of  his  imperfect  education,  he  had 
formed  so  low  an  estimate  of  the  American  colleges,  that 
he  determined  to  begin  the  study  of  law.  His  father 
placed  him  in  the  office  of  John  Nelson,  then  a  resident 
of  Frederick,  Maryland.  He  there  began  an  extensive 
course  of  study  to  make  amends  for  his  defective  educa 
tion  ;  and  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  law,  history, 
political  science,  theology,  the  physical  sciences,  and  all 
the  branches  of  medicine.  He  was  his  own  guide  in  all 
these  studies,  excepting  the  law. 

His  health  having  been  impaired  by  overwork,  he  was 

advised  to  abandon  his  studies  and  devote  himself  to  some 

active    employment ;    but   his    reply    was    that   he    would 

die  rather  than  give  up  an  intellectual  life.     With  great 

20 


306  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

loss  of  time,  from  nervous  prostration,  he  continued  his 
studies,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1831. 

Politics  he  eschewed  from  the  beginning.  His  profes 
sional  success  was  as  great  as  it  could  well  be,  for  one  who 
mingled  so  little  with  the  crowd.  He  had  unusual  facility 
for  public  speaking,  his  manners  were  those  of  a  man  of 
the  world,  and  his  appearance  as  far  as  possible  from 
everything  bookish  ;  but  his  reputation  for  literary  tastes 
did  not  do  him  the  full  measure  of  damage,  professionally, 
which  it  has  the  power  to  do  generally. 

In  the  year  1836,  a  book  on  universal  salvation,  called 
"  Balfour's  Inquiry,"  was  left  at  his  office,  with  a  request 
that  he  would  read  it,  and  record  his  opinion  of  its  argu 
ments.  Whether  the  person  who  left  it  was,  as  indict 
ments  charge,  "  instigated  by  the  devil,"  he  knew  not,  but 
certain  it  was  that  the  Greek  put  into  his  head  by  James 
McVean  baffled  the  devil,  if  indeed  he  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  matter.  Mr.  Tyler  wrote  a  notice  of  the  book, 
which  was  published  in  the  "  Princeton  Review"  for  July, 
1836.  Thus  commenced  his  authorship,  by  fighting  the 
arch  heresy  in  religion. 

He  had  now  become  engaged  in  the  study  of  mental 
philosophy.  Reid's  "Inquiry  on  the  Principles  of  Com 
mon-Sense  "  had  fallen  into  his  hands  while  he  was  a 
student  of  law,  and  gave  him  the  first  glimpse  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  human  mind.  He  had  never  before 
read  a  word  on  the  subject.  The  next  work  which  he 
took  up  was  Cousin's  "Introduction  to  the  History  of 
Philosophy,"  which  was  put  into  his  hands  by  a  person 
who  said,  "he  could  make  neither  head  nor  tail  of  it." 
He,  however,  was  more  successful ;  for  he  "  made  tales  of 
it,"  in  a  criticism  contained  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  which 
was  published  in  a  Baltimore  magazine. 


SAMl'KL    TYLKK.  307 

Tn  July,  1840,  he  published,  in  the  "  Princeton  Review" 
an  article  on  the  k*  Baconian  Philosophy";  and,  in  the 
same  month  and  year,  an  article  on  Brougham's  "  Natural 
Theology,"  in  the  literary  and  religious  magazine,  edited 
by  Rev.  R.  J.  Breckenridge,  in  Baltimore.  The  doctrines 
of  both  these  articles  had  been  embraced  in  one,  and  sent 
by  him  to  the  New  York  "  Review,"  then  edited  by  Rev. 
C.  8.  Henry.  Mr.  Henry  so  deported  himself  in  regard  to 
the  article,  that  he  addressed  to  him  a  letter,  which  was 
published  in  kk  Breckenridge's  Magazine"  for  March,  1840. 
The  various  papers  from  his  pen,  which  followed,  were 
as  follows:  "  Lenhart,  the  Mathematician,"  "Princeton 
Review,"  July,  1841  ;  "Ranch's  Psychology,"  "  Brecken 
ridge's  Magazine,"  August  of  the  same  year;  "Psychol 
ogy  ;  or,  Locke  and  Reid,"  "Princeton  Review"  for  April 
1843;  "Influence  of  the  Baconian  Philosophy,"  "Prince 
ton  Review"  for  July;  "Agricultural  Chemistry,"  same 
journal,  October,  1844  ;  "  Connection  between  Philosophy 
and  Revelation,"  same  journal,  July,  1845  ;  also  "  Bush  on 
the  Soul,"  July,  184G  ;  and  "  Ilumboldt's  Cosmos,"  July, 
1H")2  ;  and  in  the  "American  Quarterly  Review,"  about 
that  period,  he  published  an  article  on  "  Whately's  Logic." 
In  speaking  of  the  above,  and  other  similar  productions, 
he  was  wont  to  call  them  "  withered  leaves  that  strew  the 
Vallombrosa  of  literature." 

In  1844  he  published  the  first  edition  of  his  "Dis 
course  on  the  Baconian  Philosophy,"  a  second  edition  two 
years  afterwards,  and  a  third  edition  more  recently.  Soon 
after  its  first  appearance,  the  True  Catholic,  a  journal 
published  in  Baltimore,  under  the  auspices  of  Bishop 
Whittingham,  took  such  notice  of  it  as  to  call  forth  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Tyler  to  the  bishop,  which  was  far  from 
being  obsequious  in  its  character.  The  bishop,  in  his 


308  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

reply,  disavowed  all  responsibility  for  the  article,  but 
refused  to  make  the  disavowal  through  the  journal  itself, 
after  which  the  correspondence  between  the  parties  was 
published  in  the  newspapers.  In  this  state  of  the  affair, 
Hugh  Davey  Evans,  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  addressed  Mr. 
Tyler  a  letter,  avowing  himself  the  author  of  the  notice. 
In  answer  to  that  letter,  he  published  another  communica 
tion,  which  induced  Dr.  Breckenridge  to  say  that  "  he 
thanked  his  stars  that  it  was  not  addressed  to  him "  ; 
while  the  "Princeton  Review"  was  induced  to  speak  of 
the  bishop  as  a  kind  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  ;  and  the  "North 
American  Review  "  to  say  that  Mr.  Tyler  had  given  the 
Puseyite  faction  the  greatest  castigation  they  had  ever 
received.  Mr.  Tyler's  reputation  was  not  at  all  damaged 
by  "the  apostolic  blows  and  knocks"  which  he  received; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  the  highest  praise  was  awarded  to 
him  by  the  first  men  of  science  in  America  for  the  book 
he  had  published.  Even  Sir  William  Hamilton  bore  nat 
tering  testimony  to  its  merits  ;  and,  as  evidence  of  Mr. 
Tyler's  capacity  for  philosophy,  did  him  tliL>  honor  to  send 
him  each  edition  of  his  "Discussions"  as  they  issued 
from  the  press.  In  all  candor,  however,  it  should  be 
stated  that  Mr.  Tyler  did  not  think  the  work  worthy  of 
so  much  commendation.  Jt  was  written  when  he  was 
very  young,  and  in  his  own  opinion  its  chief  interest  lay 
in  its  being  the  production  of  a  person  untutored  in  phi 
losophy,  and,  therefore,  furnishing  only  a  favorable  augury 
of  better  things  in  the  future  from  the  same  mind. 

In  1848,  his  work  entitled  "Burns  as  a  Poet  and  a 
Man"  was  published  in  this  country;  and,  in  the  follow 
ing  year,  it  was  republished  in  Dublin  and  also  in  London. 
It  was  written  at  night,  during  the  winter  of  1<S48,  at 
the  suggestion  of  an  excellent  lady,  who  had  asked  Mr. 


SAMUEL  TYLER.  309 

Tyler  why  he  did  not  write  something  about  his  favorite 
poet.  In  his  criticism  on  "  Death  and  Doctor  Hornbook," 
a  most  Ludicrous  mistake  occurred  in  regard  to  the  Scotch 
word  gully,  he  having  made  it  mean,  not  a  knife,  but  a 
cavity  in  the  earth.  The  proof-reader  allowed  it  to  be  so 
printed  ;  and,  strange  to  say,  the  European  editions  did 
not  correct  the  blunder.  When  he  discovered  the  mis 
take,  it  seemed  to  him  such  a  good  joke,  that  he  at 
once  divulged  it. 

It  was  perhaps  this  circumstance,  I  have  supposed, 
which  so  sharpened  Mr.  Tyler's  critical  eyesight  as  to 
discover  an  error  in  a  letter  written  by  Daniel  Web 
ster.  It  was  his  letter  written  to  Lord  Campbell,  about 
the  chief  justices  of  England,  the  original  draft  of  which 
had  been  presented  to  me  as  a  keepsake  ;  and  on  showing  it 
to  Mr.  Tyler,  he  pointed  out  the  mistake  which  had  been 
made  in  one  paragraph,  where,  by  the  use  of  two  nega 
tives,  Mr.  Webster  actually  said  the  very  reverse  of  what 
he  intended. 

In  the  year  1841,  when  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal 
Company  was  almost  in  bankruptcy,  and  by  a  sudden  turn 
in  politics,  the  old  officers,  who  had  been  in  the  company 
from  the  first,  were  displaced,  and  new  ones  put  in  their 
positions,  it  was  found  impossible  for  these  officers  to 
make  their  annual  report  to  the  Legislature.  This  was 
during  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  canal,  and  while 
all  the  negotiations  with  the  bankers  of  P^urope,  in  the  sale 
of  these  bonds,  were  unknown  to  the  public,  and  the  great 
question  was  to  learn  what  loss  had  been  sustained  by  the 
sale  of  these  bonds.  In  this  state  of  things,  Mr.  Tyler  was 
called  upon  to  undertake  the  task  of  putting  the  business 
of  the  company  in  order.  The  old  officers  thought  none  but 
themselves  could  do  it.  Doubtless  many  persons  thought, 


310  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

that  to  go  to  Mr.  Tyler  to  do  such  work  was  like  going  to 
Parnasus,  instead  of  Wall  Street,  for  a  financier.  As  he 
had  a  partner  in  the  practice  of  the  law,  he  undertook 
the  task,  and  went  before  the  Legislature  and  explained, 
to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  the  financial  affairs,  from  first 
to  last,  of  the  company ;  and  there  was  no  further 
trouble. 

When  the  convention  assembled  in  1850  to  form  a  new 
constitution  for  the  State  of  Maryland,  Mr.  Tyler  ad 
dressed  a  letter  to  that  body  on  the  subject  of  law  reform. 
The  new  constitution,  which  was  already  formed,  required 
two  commissions  to  be  appointed  :  one,  consisting  of  two 
persons,  to  digest  the  statutes  of  the  State  ;  and  the  other, 
consisting  of  three  persons,  to  simplify  the  procedure  in 
all  the  courts  of  the  State.  Mr.  Tyler  was  elected  by  the 
Legislature  one  of  the  simplifiers.  Their  first  report,  on 
the  general  subject  of  law,  law  reform,  and  pleading,  was 
prepared  exclusively  by  Mr.  Tyler. 

In  the  mean  time  there  was  no  abatement  in  Mr.  Tyler's 
philosophical,  scientific,  and  literary  studies.  Among  the 
works  that  he  then  projected  was  one  entitled  "The  Blos 
soms  of  Science";  but  it  was  not  published.  Up  to  that 
period  his  attention  had  been  so  divided  between  law  and 
science,  that  he  really  displeased  two  classes  of  his  friends. 
The  lawyers  said,  Give  up  science  ;  the  scientists  said,  Give 
up  law ;  and  so,  as  he  was  wont  to  say,  he  pleased  neither 
class  of  friends. 

Mr.  Tyler's  work  entitled  "The  Progress  of  Philosophy 
in  the  Past  and  the  Future"  was  first  published  in  1859, 
and  a  second  edition  in  18G8  ;  in  1872  appeared  "The 
Memoir  of  Roger  B.  Taney";  and,  two  or  three  years 
afterwards,  his  "Theory  of  the  Beautiful."  Among  his 
legal  writings,  all  of  which  are  held  in  high  repute  by  the 


SAMUEL  TYLER.  311 

profession,  are  "A  Treatise  on  Pleadings  in  the  Court 
of  Chancery,"  "A  Commentary  on  the  Law  of  Partner 
ship,"  and  "  Treatise  on  Preliminary  Procedure  and  Plead 
ings  in  the  Maryland  Courts  of  Law  "  ;  and  he  also  edited, 
with  copious  notes,  "  Stephens  on  Pleading."  But  the 
crowning  work  of  his  life  was  "An  Introduction  to  States 
manship  as  shown  in  the  Progress  of  European  Society, 
in  Relation  to  Government  and  Constitutional  Law,  from 
the  Foundation  of  Rome  by  Romulus,"  not  published. 

Of  all  the  books  published  by  Professor  Tyler,  perhaps 
the  most  important,  and  the  one  which  gives  us  the  best 
characteristics  of  his  mind,  is  the  "Discourse  on  the 
Baconian  Philosophy."  But  we  allude,  especially,  to  the 
revised  edition,  which  is  in  reality  a  new  work.  "It  is  so 
changed  in  form  and  so  much  fuller  in  its  scope,  bringing 
down,  as  it  does,  all  the  important  discoveries  in  the  physi 
cal  sciences  to  the  present  time,  and  their  application  to 
the  arts  ;  and  also  showing  all -the  successive  steps  taken 
by  the  discoverers,  from  the  first  inductive  suggestions, 
through  all  their  experiments  and  reasonings,  to  the  com 
plete  development  of  the  scientific  truths  into  established 
theories."  The  edition  was  prepared  as  an  introduction  to 
the  study  of  the  physical  sciences,  and  as  a  guide  to  dis 
coveries  in  the  true  path  of  induction,  at  the  solicitation 
of  Professor  Henry,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and 
other  scientists.  The  k*  Discourse  "  "  takes  a  theistic  view 
of  physical  science  ;  and  without  making  it  a  special  and 
separate  topic  shows,  incidentally,  by  its  reasonings  in 
the  development  of  strictly  and  purely  scientific  doctrines, 
that  the  theistic  is  the  one  perennial  view  of  the  inductive 
method  from  the  beginning  of  true  science."  It  shows  that 
evolution,  when  considered  as  an  all-comprehending  doc 
trine  accounting  for  the  origin  of  things,  as  well  as  sub- 


312  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

sequent  evolution,  is  self -contradictory  in  thought  and 
absurd  in  expression. 

The  distinction  made  in  the  "  Discourse"  between  phil 
osophical  and  rhetorical  analogy,  the  first  being  the  basis 
of  inductive  inference,  and  the  last  being  only  the  basis 
of  illustration,  and  philosophical  analogy  itself  being 
inductive  evidence,  and  not  a  species  of  reasoning  as 
Aristotle  and  even  Sir  William  Hamilton  had  assumed, 
is  an  important  advance  in  the  doctrine  of  inductive 
method.  It  was  adopted  by  Professor  Henry,  in  his  lec 
tures  on  natural  philosophy  delivered  at  Princeton  College, 
and  is  retained  in  the  syllabus  of  those  lectures  published 
in  the  Smithsonian  publications.  It  was  this  "  Discourse  " 
which  induced  Sir  William  Hamilton  to  write,  in  1848,  to 
the  author,  to  give  up  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  devote 
himself  exclusively  to  philosophy.  This  the  author  never 
did,  but  yet  continued  philosophical  investigations,  until 
his  path  of  thought  and  that  of  Sir  William  became  so 
much  one,  that,  on  the  death  of  Sir  AVilliam,  Lady  Ham 
ilton  presented  the  author  with  a  beautiful  portrait  of  her 
husband,  as  a  token  of  esteem  of  herself  and  her  family. 

The  work  on  European  society  was  not  quite  finished  at 
the  time  of  his  death ;  but  I  am  glad  to  mention  the  fact 
that,  in  his  own  opinion,  expressed  to  a  friend,  it  could  be 
published  in  the  condition  it  then  was,  without  any  great 
detriment ;  and  it  is  understood  that,  in  due  time,  it  will 
appear,  under  the  editorship  of  Mr.  James  C.  Welling, 
the  learned  and  accomplished  president  of  the  Columbian 
University. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Tyler  commenced 
when  he  became  a  resident  of  Georgetown  ;  and  one  of  the 
last  evening  visits  that  he  made  before  his  death  was  at 
my  house.  He  was  the  most  brilliant  and  edifying  talker 


SAMUEL   TYLKK.  313 

I  ever  heard  ;  and  I  doubt  whether  even  the  poet  Coleridge 
was  more  than  equal  to  him  in  that  particular.  That  he 
had  one  weakness,  however,  cannot  be  denied  ;  but  it  was 
one  by  which  his  auditors  were  always  benefited,  viz.,  a 
disposition  to  monopolize  the  conversation.  His  "subject 
themes"  were  well-nigh  unlimited.  The  grasp  of  his  mind 
was  such  that  he  could  infuse  into  things  obsolete  the 
spirit  of  the  living  present.  When  led  in  the  direction  of 
the  beautiful,  he  talked  like  a  poet  about  woman  and  art, 
the  charms  of  nature  and  the  experiences  of  the  human 
heart ;  with  the  records  of  history  and  of  jurisprudence  he 
was  as  familiar  as  most  men  are  with  their  daily  avoca 
tions  ;  the  depth  and  extent  of  his  knowledge  on  all  the 
manifold  phases  of  philosophy  was  simply  marvellous  ;  and 
he  had  the  power  of  discoursing  upon  the  Bible  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  make  his  hearers  almost  believe  that  he  had 
never  studied  any  other  volume.  For  women  who  were 
handsome,  brilliant,  and  good,  he  had  a  kind  of  passion  ; 
and  it  was  to  one  of  these,  Miss  Esmeralda  Boyle,  that  he 
dedicated  his  "  Theory  of  the  Beautiful."  His  love  of  truth 
in  literature  was  such  that  it  induced  him  to  try  and  prove 
by  documents  that  the  poem  of  "Barbara  Frietchie,"  by 
Whittier,  was  founded  upon  a  pure  fiction  instead  of  a  fact. 
If  vulnerable  on  the  score  of  self-conceit,  it  may  be  asserted 
with  entire  truth  that  very  few  in  any  age  have  ever  received 
a  larger  number  of  highly  complimentary  letters  from  fa 
mous  men  in  the  various  departments  of  learning.  For 
political  controversies  he  had  no  taste ;  and  while  always 
ready  to  exercise  an  impartial  judgment,  his  sympathies 
were  generally  with  the  doctrines  and  the  statesmen  of  the 
section  of  country  in  which  he  was  born,  but  he  cherished 
no  feelings  of  unkinduess  towards  any  portion  of  our  com 
mon  country,  every  part  of  which  he  felt  should  be  dear  to 


314  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

the  true  patriot.  In  religion  he  was  entirely  orthodox, 
but  made  no  pretensions  ;  and,  on  the  fly-leaf  of  a  little 
German  Testament  which  he  always  kept  upon  his  writing 
table,  I  have  found  written  the  subjoined  translation  of  a 
passage  from  the  will  of  M.  Guizot,  to  which  was  appended 
his  signature  :  — 

"I  believe  in  God,  and  adore  him,  without  attempting 
to  comprehend  him.  I  see  him  present,  and  acting  not 
only  in  the  permanent  regime  of  the  universe,  and  in  the 
minor  life  of  souls,  but  in  the  history  of  human  societies, 
and  especially  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  monuments 
of  the  revelation  and  divine  action  through  the  mediation 
and  sacrifice  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  the  salvation  of 
the  human  race.  I  bow  down  before  the  mysteries  of  the 
Bible  and  Gospel,  and  I  keep  myself  aloof  from  the  dis 
cussions  and  scientific  solutions  by  which  men  have  tried 
to  explain  them.  I  have  full  confidence  that  God  permits 
me  to  call  myself  a  Christian,  and  I  am  convinced  that  in 
the  light  into  which  I  shall  shortly  enter  we  shall  see  dis 
tinctly  the  purely  human  origin,  and  the  vanity,  of  most 
of  our  disputes  here  below  on  divine  subjects."  Dec.  1, 
1874. 

In  the  opinion  of  one  of  his  friends,  the  ruling  thought 
in  his  mind  was  the  Christian  revelation  considered  as  an 
element  and  factor  in  human  history. 

The  men  of  thought  for  whom  he  felt  a  special  regard, 
he  "grappled  them  to  his  soul  with  hooks  of  steel,"  having 
a  fancy  for  covering  his  study  walls  with  their  portraits  ; 
and  I  remember  that  one  of  his  best  pictures,  occupying 
the  place  of  honor,  was  the  portrait  of  Sir  William  Hamil 
ton,  already  mentioned,  which  had  been  presented  to  him 
by  Lady  Hamilton.  His  exploits  as  an  advocate  before 
the  courts  of  Maryland  are  a  marked  feature  in  the  legal 


SAMUEL   TYLER.  315 

history  of  the  State.  As  law  professor  in  the  Columbian 
University,  he  was  always  popular  with  the  students,  and 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  the  Faculty.  As  an  author, 
his  chief  vehicle  for  communicating  with  the  public,  as 
already  intimated,  was  the  "  Princeton  Review"  ;  and  the 
essays  which  he  published  therein,  between  the  years  18;}(» 
and  185;'),  would  form  a  most  interesting  and  valuable 
volume.  His  remarkable  versatility  is  exemplified  by  the 
diverse  character  of  his  published  and  unpublished  pro 
ductions.  It  is  true  that  they  are  not  numerous  ;  but  they 
are  so  distinguished  for  their  ability  that  his  reputation  as 
an  author  is  even  more  widely  recognized  in  Europe  than 
in  this  country. 

As  an  evidence  of  his  influence  among  men  of  thought, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  he  was  made  a  doctor  of  laws 
in  1858  by  Columbia  College  of  South  Carolina,  and  by 
Columbia  College  of  New  York  in  1859,  when  the  presi 
dent,  Charles  King,  wrote  that  the  honor  was  conferred 
'•  in  token  of  admiration  for  his  character  and  for  his  legal 
and  literary  attainments."  It  was  in  June,  18G7,  that  he 
was  unanimously  elected  professor  of  law  in  the  Columbian 
College  of  Washington,  in  which  position  he  continued 
until  his  death,  and  from  which  he  also  received  the  degree 
of  doctor  of  laws.  But  the  very  high  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  by  leading  men  in  Europe  was  something  most 
unusual.  Although  he  had  never  crossed  the  Atlantic,  he 
was,  by  means  of  correspondence,  on  the  most  intimate 
terms  with  the  philosophers  of  Scotland  ;  and  it  was  upon 
his  nomination,  made  by  request,  that  two  of  the  chairs  of 
philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  were  filled  by 
men  who  have  proved  themselves  eminently  worthy  of  the 
honor  conferred  upon  them. 

The  death  of  Professor  Tyler  took  place  in  Georgetown, 


316  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

D.  C.,  on  the  15th  of  December,  1877.  He  left  a  widow 
and  one  son,  his  only  daughter  having  died  several  years 
before.  During  the  protracted  illness  which  proved  to  be 
his  last,  he  made  several  attempts  to  resume  his  labors  on 
his  unfinished  book  ;  but  his  brother,  Dr.  Graf  ton  Tyler, 
told  him  to  throw  it  aside  at  once,  as  he  was  killing  him 
self,  whereupon  he  replied,  "I  have  killed  myself,"  and 
never  again  took  up  the  pen  which  he  had  wielded  with 
most  consummate  skill  and  success.  For  many  months 
his  friends  were  apprehensive  that  he  was  overworking 
himself  ;  and  the  result  of  this  overwork  was  that  he  died 
from  paralysis  of  the  brain. 

He  was  a  man  of  fine  personal  appearance ;  always 
dignified  and  agreeable  in  his  manners  ;  fond  of  seeking 
relaxation  from  his  life  of  intellectual  toil  in  cultivated 
society  ;  and,  as  already  stated,  his  conversational  powers 
were  remarkable.  His  name,  as  one  of  his  friends  has 
said,  belongs  to  the  catalogue  with  Thales,  Socrates,  Aris 
totle,  Descartes,  Bacon,  Locke,  Whewell,  Reid,  Hamilton, 
Cousin,  Kant,  and  Hegel ;  and  when  the  human  mind  com 
pletes  the  cycle,  and  returns,  after  the  changes  of  the 
present  time,  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  it  will  render 
well-deserved  homage  to  the  intellect  of  Samuel  Tyler. 


WINFIELD    SCOTT. 

AMONG  the  men  of  mark  with  whom  it  was  my  good 
fortune  to  be  personally  acquainted,  there  were  none  for 
whom  I  entertained  a  greater  affection  than  General  Scott. 
He  had  been  the  friend  of  my  father ;  and  when  I  first 
saw  him  in  1849,  he  treated  me  with  great  kindness. 
The  place  where  I  most  frequently  met  him  was  the  Library 


WINFIELD    SCOTT.  317 

of  the  War  Department,  of  which  I  was  then  the  libra 
rian.  He  was  a  frequent  visitor,  and  we  had  many  pleas 
ant  talks  about  books  and  authors.  His  love  of  literature 
was  strong,  and  his  knowledge  and  taste  decidedly  uncom 
mon, —  far  in  advance  of  public  men  generally.  He  was 
partial  to  French  books  ;  and  many  of  the  more  valuable 
publications  in  the  War  Department  Library  were  pur 
chased  at  his  suggestion  ;  and  he  had  a  special  fondness 
for  the  great  English  reviews.  When  Kendall's  descrip 
tion  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  with  large  pictures  of  the 
principal  battles,  made  its  appearance,  an  early  copy  was 
obtained  for  the  library  ;  and  one  of  the  first  men  who 
looked  over  it  there  was  General  Scott.  His  comments 
were  full  of  sharp  criticism,  but  it  was  evident  that  the 
scenes  in  which  he  had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  inspired 
considerable  pleasure. 

When,  in  1851,  General  Scott  began  to  be  talked  about 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  a  Philadelphia  publisher 
asked  me  to  prepare  a  campaign  life  of  the  war-worn  hero. 
I  consulted  the  general,  and  accepted  the  commission. 
He  helped  me  somewhat  in  my  labors  ;  the  little  book 
was  duly  published,  and  hence,  perhaps,  the  election  of 
Franklin  Peirce.  u  I  never  loved  a  bird  or  flower,"  etc. ,  nor 
did  I  ever  try  to  help  a  political  friend  into  the  Presidency, 
without  blasting  his  prospects  forevermore  ;  the  moral  of 
which  is,  that  I  was  never  intended  for  the  arena  of  politics. 
And  it  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection  that,  after 
Peirce  became  President,  I  had  the  honor  of  dining  at  the 
White  House,  when  the  two  most  prominent  guests  were 
Winfield  Scott  and  Jefferson  Davis. 

Another  incident  that  I  remember,  connected  with  Gen 
eral  Scott,  had  reference  to  a  speculation  in  horse-flesh.  He 
mentioned  the  fact  to  me,  one  day,  that  he  had  a  charming 


318  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

little  mare,  which  he  had  purchased  for  his  daughter,  but 
that  the  animal  was  altogether  too  lively  for  the  saddle,  and 
he  wished  to  sell  her.  I  told  him  I  would  purchase  her, 
myself ,  if  I  had  the  money,  as  I  wanted  just  such  a  crea 
ture  for  my  amusement.  "  Give  me  your  note,"  said  he, 
"for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  it  will  be  all 
right."  I  duly  forwarded  the  valuable  consideration  to 
him,  when  he  returned  this  little  missive  to  me  :  — 

WASHINGTON,  March  18, 1853. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Your  note,  payable,  etc.,  is  satisfactory. 
I  told  the  stable-keeper,  this  morning,  to  deliver  the  mare 
to  you,  etc.  She  rejoices  in  (or  at  least,  responds  to)  the 
name  of  "  Lady  Ella."  Yours  truly, 

WINFIELD  SCOTT. 

This  mare  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  creatures  of 
the  horse  kind  I  ever  saw,  but  she  had  one  habit  that 
made  her  ladyship  rather  disgusting  ;  it  was  that  of  get 
ting  up  a  regular  dance  whenever  she  passed  a  carriage  ; 
whereby  she  invariably  prevented  her  rider  from  making  a 
graceful  bow  to  any  lady  friends  that  he  might  happen  to 
know,  and  compelled  him  to  appear  in  rather  a  ridiculous 
plight.  It  was  not  long,  therefore,  before  I  parted  with 
the  "  Lady  Ella,"  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  ;  and 
she  was  subsequently  sold,  in  Baltimore,  for  seven  hundred 
dollars. 

When  my  "Dictionary  of  Congress"  was  first  pub 
lished,  among  the  friends  to  whom  I  sent  copies  was 
General  Scott,  who  then  had  his  headquarters  in  New 
York  ;  and,  in  return,  he  sent  me  the  following  pleasant 
note :  — 


WINFIELD    SCOTT.  310 

NEW  YORK,  April  21,  1851). 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  am  indebted  to  your  courtesy  for  a 
copy  of  the  "  Congressional  Dictionary."  It  is  a  capital 
idea  to  furnish  such  a  work  for  reference,  and  I  hope  that, 
with  your  known  ability,  it  will  be  carried  on  and  perfected 
in  future  editions.  •  Accept  my  thanks,  and  believe  me, 

Yours  respectfully, 

WINFIELD  SCOTT. 

One  of  the  most  agreeable  interviews  that  I  had  with 
General  Scott  was  on  the  deck  of  a  North  River  steam 
boat,  when  he  was  going  to  make  one  of  his  frequent  visits 
to  West  Point.  He  seemed  to  know  the  history  of  every 
bay,  headland,  ledge,  hill,  and  farm  that  we  sighted  ;  and 
his  talk  abounded  in  anecdotes  connected  with  them,  and 
the  famous  men  of  the  Revolution.  But  the  two  or  three 
persons  who  immediately  surrounded  him  were  not  the 
only  ones  who  enjoyed  his  conversation  ;  for  there  was 
constantly  a  larger  group  collected  within  the  sound  of  his 
soft  and  gentle  voice,  who  looked  upon  the  venerable  hero 
with  pride  and  affection,  and  who  seemed  delighted  with 
his  conversation.  He  smiled  at  the  curiosity  that  was 
evinced,  but  withstood  the  piercing  glances  with  accus 
tomed  fortitude. 

The  last  time  that  I  saw  the  grand  old  general  was  a 
few  days  preceding  his  final  departure  from  Washington, 
on  which  occasion  he  alluded  in  pathetic  terms  to  the 
existing  national  troubles.  And  as  to  the  parting  between 
Scott  and  McClellan  at  the  railway  station,  on  that  famous 
morning,  it  was  to  my  mind  one  of  the  most  poetical 
events  of  the  war.  The  dimly  lighted  hall,  the  silent  hour 
before  daybreak,  the  two  chieftains  with  their  "military 


320  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

staffs,  —  one  of  them  old  and  rounding  a  life  of  glory  and 
passing  into  retirement ;  the  other  young,  full  of  the  most 
brilliant  promise,  and  passing  into  a  field  of  military  action 
almost  without  a  parallel,  —  all  combined  to  make  an  im 
pression  on  the  public  mind  not  soon  to  be  forgotten. 
The  events  which  General  Scott  witnessed,  during  his 
eventful  career,  were  numerous  and  wonderful ;  but  none 
of  them  were  more  remarkable  than  that  he  should  have 
seen  his  successor  hounded  out  of  his  military  power  by 
a  pack  of  unscrupulous  demagogues  ;  and  it  was  a  blessing 
to  the  veteran  warrior  that  he  should  have  lived  long 
enough  to  witness  the  triumphant  conclusion  of  the  war 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  and  the  final  extinction 
of  slavery  on  the  American  continent. 


CHAELES   MACKAY. 

IT  was  through  this  well-known  author  and  poet  that  I 
became,  in  1P57,  a  correspondent  of  the  Illustrated  Lon 
don  News,  in  which  I  published  a  series  of  illustrations 
of  American  scenery.  During  his  first  visit  to  this  coun 
try  I  saw  much  of  him  and  admired  him  as  a  poet,  a 
lecturer,  and  a  man.  In  Washington  he  received  marked 
attention  from  our  public  men,  and  was  more  warmly 
greeted  there  as  a  lecturer  than  anywhere  else,  excepting 
Cincinnati,  where  he  had  an  audience  of  two  thousand  ; 
while  the  city  of  Philadelphia  sent  less  than  twenty  per 
sons  to  hear  him  on  the  subject  of  "  National,  Historical, 
and  Popular  Songs."  In  Washington,  a  card  was  pub 
lished  thanking  him  for  one  of  his  lectures  ;  and  among 
the  forty  persons  who  signed  it  were  John  J.  Crittenden, 


CHARLES   MACK  AY.  321 

Lord  Napier,  Jefferson  Davis,  W.  H.  Seward,  and  A.  H. 
Stephens. 

Among  the  many  things  that  he  told  me  about  the  men 
with  whom,  as  a  journalist,  he  had  been  intimate,  I  re 
member  those  :  That  Herbert  Ingram,  who  founded  the  Lon 
don  News,  in  1842,  and  who  was  subsequently  a  member  of 
Parliament,  commenced  his  career  as  a  news-vender  ;  that 
he  knew  Charles  Dickens  when  he  began  to  write  his 
4(1  Sketches  of  Character,"  for  which  he  received  two  guineas 
each  from  the  Chronicle,  the  paper  with  which  Mr.  Mackay 
had  been  connected  for  about  ten  years ;  that  Sidney 
Smith  was  an  occasional  contributor  to  the  Chronicle,  hav 
ing  himself  brought  his  famous  letter  to  the  Pennsylva- 
nians  to  the  office,  and  who  was  such  a  bad  penman  that 
what  he  wrote  had  to  be  guessed  at  by  the  proof-readers. 
Mr.  Mackay  also  told  me  that  Thomas  Moore  and  Thomas 
Campbell  were  both  in  the  habit  of  printing  spicy  squibs 
in  the  columns  of  the  Chronicle.  It  was  from  him,  also, 
that  I  first  heard  of  Thackeray's  singular  indifference  to 
the  works  of  nature  ;  and  that  he  did  not  have  the  curiosity 
to  visit  Niagara,  when  in  this  country.  I  had  always  been 
amazed  at  my  own  inability  to  wade  through  the  novels 
of  this  famous  author,  but  that  information  settled  the 
whole  question.  He  could,  of  course,  describe  a  fashion 
able  and  heartless  woman  to  perfection  ;  but,  for  myself, 
I  have  no  fancy  for  society  follies  when  gone  to  seed. 

Mr.  Mackay  had  known  Samuel  Rogers  quite  intimately, 
and  while  he  praised  him  highly,  I  became  impressed  with 
the  idea  that  the  banker-poet  was  as  much  a  cynic  as 
Thackeray,  and  the  possessor  of  other  qualities  not  calcu 
lated  to  add  to  the  pleasures  of  memory,  on  the  part  of 
those  who  knew  him  best.  But  what  Mr.  Mackay  told 
me  about  William  Wordsworth  was  decidedly  amusing  as 
21 


322  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

well  as  pathetic.  Happening  to  be  at  Ambleside  on  one 
occasion,  he  improved  an  offered  opportunity  to  visit  Rydal 
Mount,  and,  although  kindly  welcomed  by  the  great  poet, 
Mr.  Mackay  received  two  compliments  that  were  unique. 
In  the  first  place,  Woods  worth  told  him  that  he  had  never 
read  one  of  his  poems,  and  never  intended  to  do  so,  giving 
as  a  reason  that  he  never  read  any  but  his  own  ;  and,  in 
the  second  place,  he  persisted,  on  several  occasions,  in 
calling  Mr.  Mackay,  Laman  Blanchard  (who  had  recently 
committed  suicide) ,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  they 
parted  ;  proving  that  the  good  and  grand  old  author  of 
the  "  Ode  to  Immortality  "  was  simply  in  his  dotage. 

Another  incident  narrated  to  me  by  Mr.  Mackay  was- 
even  more  sad  than  the  one  last  mentioned,  because  it  re 
flected  on  the  bad  taste,  if  nothing  more,  of  an  American 
official,  who  at  the  time  was  superintendent  of  the  Capitol 
extension  in  Washington,  while  T.  W.  Walters  was  the 
architect.  That  gentleman  had  presented  to  Mr.  Mackay, 
as  editor  of  the  Illustrated  London  Neivs.  a  complete  set  of 
photographs  from  the  original  drawings  of  the  new  dome  ; 
and  when  the  superintendent  chanced  to  hear  of  the  cir 
cumstance,  he  sent  a  note  to  Mr.  Mackay,  asking  that  he 
might  be  permitted  to  examine  the  designs,  to  see  if  they 
were  all  right,  and  for  authentication.  Of  course  the 
request  was  complied  with  ;  and,  when  they  were  returned, 
it  was  found  that  the  name  of  the  architect  on  each  pho 
tograph  had  been  erased,  and  in  its  place  was  substituted 
that  of  the  superintendent.  When  this  mutilation  was 
submitted  to  my  inspection,  and  I  heard  the  comments  of 
the  foreigner  on  the  conduct  of  my  countryman,  I  did 
not  feel  like  making  an  allusion  to  the  "  Star-Spangled 
Banner"  or  any  other  patriotic  song. 

During   Mr.   Mackay's  sojourn  in  Washington   he  was 


CHARLES    MACKAY.  323 

invited  to  dine  with  President  Buchanan  ;  and,  by  the 
merest  accident,  the  day  fixed  for  the  entertainment  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  surrender  of  the  British  at  New 
( )rleans.  After  the  fact  of  the  dinner  had  been  mentioned 
in  the  papers,  several  particularly  zealous,  if  not  intelli 
gent  Englishmen,  wrote  to  Mr.  Mackay,  complaining  that 
he  should  have  submitted  to  such  an  insult  from  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  ;  but  the  poet  had  the  good 
sense  to  ridicule  all  such  suggestions.  He  saw  quite  as 
much  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Seward  as  of  any  noted  American, 
and  the  opinions  attributed  to  the  then  senator  were 
certainly  entertaining ;  one  of  them  was  that  France 
ought  to  be  overthrown  ;  another,  that  Ireland,  Hungary, 
and  Poland  should  be  made  free  ;  another,  that  he  de 
spaired  of  ever  seeing  slavery  abolished  ;  and  lastly,  that 
he  hoped  he  might  live  to  see  the  time  when  there  would 
be  a  divided  American  Republic,  with  three  confederacies. 
It  was  perhaps  to  prevent  this  calamity  that,  at  a  subse 
quent  period,  Mr.  Seward  fixed  his  mind  on  the  Presi 
dency,  and  thought  that  his  cause  might  be  assisted  if  the 
Illustrated  London  Neics  should  publish  his  portrait,  with  a 
sketch  of  his  life,  as  was  kindly  done  by  Mr.  Mackay. 

During  his  stay  in  Washington,  Mr.  Mackay  was  fre 
quently  entertained  at  dinner  by  persons  who  esteemed 
the  man  and  admired  his  poetry  ;  and  it  was  at  one  of 
these  entertainments  that  he  delivered  the  following  poem, 
which  I  print  from  the  manuscript  presented  to  me  by  the 
author,  and  now  in  my  possession  :  — 

JOHN   AND   JONATHAN. 

Said  Brother  Jonathan  to  John, 

"  You  are  the  elder  born ; 
And  I  can  bear  another's  hate, 

But  not  your  slightest  scorn. 


324  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

You  've  lived  a  life  of  noble  strife ; 

You  've  made  a  world  your  own ; 
Why,  when  I  follow  in  your  steps, 

Receive  me  with  a  groan? 

"  I  feel  the  promptings  of  my  youth, 

That  urge  me  evermore 
To  spread  my  fame,  my  race,  my  name, 

From  shore  to  farthest  shore. 
I  feel  the  lightnings  in  my  blood, 

The  thunders  in  my  hand, 
And  I  must  work  my  destiny, 

Whoever  may  withstand. 

'*  And  if  you  'd  give  me,  Brother  John, 

The  sympathy  I  crave, 
And  stretch  your  warm,  fraternal  hand 

Across  the  Atlantic  wave, 
I  'd  give  it  such  a  cordial  grasp 

That  earth  should  start  to  see, 
And  ancient  crowns  and  sceptres  shake 

That  fear  both  you  and  me." 

Said  Brother  John  to  Jonathan, 

"You  do  my  nature  wrong; 
I  never  hated,  never  scorned, 

But  loved  you  well  and  long. 
If,  children  of  the  self-same  sire, 

We  've  quarrelled,  now  and  then, 
'T  was  only  in  our  early  youth, 

And  not  since  we  were  men. 

"  And  if,  with  cautious,  cooler  blood, 

Result  of  sufferings  keen, 
I  sometimes  think  you  move  too  fast,  — 

Mistake  not  what  I  mean  ! 
I  've  felt  the  follies  of  my  youth, 

The  errors  of  my  prime, 
And  dreamed  for  you,  —  my  father's  son, 

A  future  more  sublime. 


CHARLES    MACKAY.  325 

"And  here  's  my  hand,  —  't  is  freely  given,  — 

I  stretch  it  o'er  the  brine, 
And  wish  yon,  from  my  head  and  heart, 

A  higher  life  than  mine. 
Together  let  us  rule  the  world, 

Together  work  and  thrive ; 
For,  if  you  're  only  twenty-one, 

I  'in  scarcely  thirty-five. 

"  And  I  have  strength  for  nobler  work 

Than  e'er  my  hand  has  done, 
And  realms  to  rule,  and  truths  to  plant, 

Beyond  the  rising  sun. 
Take  you  the  West,  and  I  the  East ! 

We  '11  spread  ourselves  abroad, 
With  trade  and  spade  and  wholesome  laws, 

And  faith  in  man  and  God. 

"  Take  you  the  West,  and  I  the  East ; 

We  speak  the  self-same  tongue 
That  Milton  wrote,  and  Chatham  spoke, 

And  Burns  and  Shakespeare  sung. 
And  from  our  tongue,  our  hand,  our  heart, 

Shall  countless  blessings  flow, 
To  light  two  darkened  hemispheres 

That  know  not  where  they  go. 

"  Our  Anglo-Saxon  name  and  fame, 

Our  Anglo-Saxon  speech, 
Received  their  mission  straight  from  heaven 

To  civilize  and  teach. 
So  here 's  my  hand  ;  I  stretch  it  forth  ! 

Ye  meaner  lands,  look  on  ! 
From  this  day  hence,  there 's  friendship  firm 

'Twixt  Jonathan  and  John !  " 

They  shook  their  hands,  this  noble  pair, 

And  o'er  the  electric  chain 
Came  daily  messages  of  peace, 

And  love  betwixt  them  twain. 


326  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

When  other  nations,  sore  oppressed, 

Lie  dark  in  sorrow's  night, 
They  look  to  Jonathan  and  John, 

And  hope  for  coming  light. 

Read  in  the  light  of  our  civil  war,  and  of  the  subsequent 
financial  troubles  of  England,  these  lines  are  especially 
interesting,  and  not  without  a  moral  for  whom  they  may 
concern.  I  now  submit  the  following  notes  :  — 

WILLARD'S  HOTEL,  WASHINGTON,  Jan.  0,  1858. 
My  dear  Sir,  —  I  reply  to  your  several  questions  :  — 

1.  The  price  is  as  you  state,  — one  guinea  per  sketch, 
and  the  same  per  column  of  letter-press. 

2.  You  might  extend,  without  disadvantage,  the  letter 
press  ;  but  no  single  contribution,  including  several  sub 
jects,  should  ever  pass  a  couple  of  columns. 

3.  While  I  am  in  the  United   States,  the  better  way 
would  be  to  forward  your  sketches,  etc.,  to  me.      If  sent 
direct  to  the  office  in  London,  without  my  imprimatur  upon 
them,  they  might  be  delayed  or  neglected. 

4.  After  my  return   to   England,  address   to  Herbert 
Ingram,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  Illustrated  London  Hfeics  office,  11)8 
Strand,  London.     Apply  also  to  the  same  gentleman  for 
payment,  stating   the   arrangement  you   have   made  with 
me ;  and  all  your  commands  will  be  duly  attended  to. 

Hoping  to  see  you  before  I  leave,  I  remain, 

Ever  truly  yours, 

CHARLES  MACKAV. 

BTTRNET  HOUSE,  CINCINNATI,  Jan.  21,  1858. 
My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  —  I  am  much  obliged  for  your 
pleasant  introduction  to  Mr.  Charles  Anderson,  which  has 
led  to  my  acquaintance  with  Mr.  and   Mrs.   Longworth, 
and  with  the  whole  of  a  most  interesting  family. 


CHARLES    MACKAT.  327 

I  received  the  enclosed  letter  from  Mr.  Blank  this  morn 
ing.  Yon  will  do  me  a  favor  (if  it  be  not  asking  you  too 
much)  to  explain  to  him  that  he  has  quite  misunderstood 
the  position  of  matters  ;  that  we  pay  one  guinea  (five  dol 
lars)  a  sketch,  and  that  in  reality  he  has  given  me  but  the 
materials  for  one  picture,  or  one  sketch,  which  I  have  for 
warded  to  London  with  instructions;  his  little  odds  and 
ends  merely  come  in  as  completions  to  one  design.  I 
should  very  gladly  have  paid  him  for  seven,  if  he  had  pro 
duced  seven  ;  but  I  should  much  rather  have  been  without 
his  services  altogether.  He  created  a  most  pernicious 
delay  ;  and,  at  the  last  moment,  did  not  produce  the  thing 
needed.  I  wish  you  would  make  him  understand  this  as 
gently  and  courteously  as  possible,  and  not  to  hurt  his 
feelings  ;  but  business  is  business,  and  I  cannot,  in  a  case 
like  his,  which  has  been  one  of  disappointment  through 
out,  stretch  the  rules  of  the  of  lice,  and  pay  him  for  work 
not  done. 

For  one  sketch  and  two  photographs,  I  hold  myself 
responsible. 

Excuse  me,  I  pray,  for  troubling  you  in  this  matter  ;  and 
with  kindest  regards,  believe  me, 

Ever  truly  yours, 

CHARLES  MACKAY. 


BUKNET  HOUSE,  CINCINNATI,  Jan.  23, 1858. 

My  clear  Sir,  —  I  am  not  able  to  answer  some  inquiries 
relative  to  the  amount  paid  for  drawings  on  the  wood  ; 
but  I  think  the  most  practised  and  best  draughtsmen,  such 
as  Gilbert,  Read,  and  Foster,  receive  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
guineas  per  page.  I  am  not  sure,  however. 

I  was  invited  to  meet  Mr.  Strother,  but,  unfortunately, 


328,  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

had  to  leave  Washington  that  very  day.  and  could  not  see 
him.  I  still  hope,  however,  to  have  the  pleasure. 

The  scenes  of  the  Potomac  (shooting,  fishing,  etc.) 
would  be  good,  and  suitable  for  the  paper. 

As  regards  the  proofs  of  the  forthcoming  work,  I  should 
like  to  see  them  before  they  are  sent  to  England.  My 
address  will  be  at  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  New  Orleans. 

Do  not  send  any  letter  of  news  to  the  Illustrated  Lon 
don  News  during  my  stay  in  this  country,  as  I  send  them 
quite  as  much  as  they  can  conveniently  make  room  for. 
After  my  departure,  I  will  arrange  to  give  you  proper 
scope  for  all  matters  of  importance. 

Ever  yours  truly, 

CHARLES  MACK  AY. 

MONTREAL,  April  29,  1858. 

My  dear  Sir, — My  only  fear  is  that  you  may  be  sup 
plying  sketches  a  little  "  too  fast,"  especially  while  I  am 
in  the  country,  and  doing  quite  as  much  in  that  line  (or 
more)  than  the  I.  L.  N.  can  make  room  for.  I  propose 
returning  home  by  the  steamer  of  the  1 2th  ;  and  I  think 
you  had  better  send  me  the  sketches  of  Mr.  Strother  (and 
the  letter-press) ,  that  I  may  take  them  with  me.  Address, 
by  return  mail  to  this  city,  care  of  the  Hon.  John  Young. 
Believe  me,  Ever  truly  yours, 

CHARLES  MACKAY. 

P.  S.  In  about  two  months  "  the  coast  will  be  clearer" 
for  your  contributions,  inasmuch  as  mine,  by  that  time, 
will  coase  to  block  the  way. 


CLAUK    MILLS.  329 


CLARK   MILLS. 

CLARK  MILLS  was  born  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
Dec.  1,  1815.  In  consequence  of  the  death  of  his  father, 
he  was  placed,  at  the  early  age  of  live  years,  with  an  nncie 
by  marriage,  whom  he  left  between  the  age  of  twelve  and 
thirteen  for  imagined  ill-treatment.  The  following  spring 
he  worked  on  a  farm  and  drove  a  wagon.  lie  went  to 
school  that  winter,  working  night  and  morning,  before 
school  hours,  for  his  board.  The  next  spring  he  went  to 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  in  search  of  work,  and  found  employ 
ment  at  five  dollars  a  month  with  board.  He  worked  nine 
months,  and  received  only  five  dollars  :  his  employer  failed 
in  the  fall,  and  he  lost  all  that  was  due  him.  He  worked 
during  the  winter  at  a  different  employment,  and  in  the 
spring  drove  a  wagon  hauling  lumber  at  Syracuse,  where 
he  remained  one  year  at  eight  dollars  a  month  and  board. 
The  horses  were  finally  sold,  and  oxen  substituted.  Find 
ing  an  ox  team  too  slow  for  his  ''go-ahead"  disposition, 
he  left  his  employer,  and  worked  on  the  canal  till  the  fall, 
and  went  to  school  that  winter.  In  the  spring  he  tended 
canal  locks.  The  following  winter  he  worked  in  a  swamp, 
cutting  cedar  posts,  and  got  his  feet  so  badly  frozen  that 
he  was  unable  to  wear  shoes  for  several  months,  which 
suffering  determined  him  never  to  work  again  as  a  com 
mon  laborer.  He  then  procured  a  situation  with  a  cabinet 
maker,  working  first  for  instruction  and  then  for  board. 
He  next  learned  the  millwright's  trade,  and  worked  at  that 
about  two  years,  and  left  the  employment  to  take  charge 
of  a  plaster  and  cement  mill. 

His  next  move  was  for  New  Orleans,  La.,  where  he 
stayed  about  one  year,  and  then  went  to  Charleston,  S.  C., 


330  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  learned  the  stucco  trade,  which  business  he  followed 
until  1835,  when  he  commenced  modelling  busts  in  clay. 
He  soon  discovered  a  new  method  for  taking  a  cast  over 
the  living  face,  which  enabled  him  to  take  busts  so  cheaply 
that  he  soon  had  as  much  work  as  he  could  do.  He  then 
resolved  to  try  cutting  in  marble  ;  and,  after  procuring  a 
block  of  native  Carolina  stone,  he  commenced  the  bust  of 
John  C.  Calhoun.  At  that  time  he  was  not  familiar  with 
the  rules  for  cutting  a  bust,  and  was  compelled  to  adopt  a 
rule  of  his  own,  which  was  a  very  tedious  process,  requir 
ing  extraordinary  care.  He  soon,  however,  succeeded  in 
producing  what  was  then  considered  the  best  likeness  ever 
taken  of  Mr.  Calhoun.  The  bust  was  purchased  by  the 
city  council  of  Charleston  ;  and  he  was  also  awarded  a  gold 
medal,  on  one  side  of  which  was  inscribed  the  following  :  — 

"  Aedes  Mores  Juraque  Curat.     (Artesque  Fovit) 
Ingeuii  premium  virtuti  calcar, 

Id.  Apr.  MDCCCXLVI." 
On  the  other  side  :  — 

"  To  Clark  Mills  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  genius  for  sculpture 
exhibited  in  his  bust  of  the  favorite  son  of  Carolina,  John  C. 
Calhoun,,  and  as  an  incentive  to  further  exertions,  this  medal  is 
presented  by  the  City  Council  of  Charleston." 

Soon  after  this,  means  were  offered  him  by  the  wealthy 
gentlemen  of  Charleston  to  study  in  Europe.  This  circum 
stance  found  its  way  into  the  newspapers  ;  and,  in  a  few 
days,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  lion  John  Preston  (the 
gentleman  who  sent  Hiram  Powers  to  Italy) ,  which  stated 
that  he  had  seen  the  notices  about  his  visit  to  Italy,  and 
that  he  would  like  to  have  him  come  to  Columbia,  S.  C., 
and  take  the  busts  of  himself  and  wife  ;  also,  that  Colonel 
Wade  Hampton  desired  the  busts  of  himself  and  (laugh- 


CLA11K    MILLS.  331 

lers  ;  and  that  he  might  cut  them  in  marble  when  he  had 
further  advanced  in  the  art. 

He  took  the  advice  of  friends,  and  went  to  Columbia. 
After  taking  ten  busts,  he  returned  to  Charleston.  A 
little  incident  occurred  at  this  time  which  seemed  to  change 
his  whole  course.  When  he  called  to  take  leave  of  Wil 
liam  C.  Preston,  whose  acquaintance  he  had  formed,  he 
remarked  to  the  artist  that  he  should  see  the  statuary  at 
Washington  before  visiting  Europe.  He  replied  that  '*  if 
he  should  spend  his  means  in  travelling  about,  he  would 
not  be  able  to  accomplish  his  object."  —  "As  fur  expense," 
said  Mr.  Preston,  4*  if  you  will  go  to  Washington,  and 
take  the  busts  of  my  friends  Webster  and  Crittenden,  I 
will  pay  your  expenses  there  and  back,  and  pay  you  for 
the  busts  also."  He  readily  accepted  the  offer,  started  for 
Washington,  stopping  in  Richmond,  Va.,  to  see  the  statue 
by  Iloudon,  which  was  the  first  statue  he  had  ever  seen. 
The  first  thing  he  did  after  his  arrival  in  Washington  was 
to  visit  the  Capitol,  that  he  might  feast  his  eager  eyes  on 
the  statuary  there.  He  saw  much  to  admire,  and  much 
which,  even  to  his  unpractised  eye,  appeared  imperfect. 
The  drapery  on  the  ';  Statue  of  Peace"  seemed  to  surpass 
human  skill;  and  the  k-  Muse  of  History,"  recording  the 
events  of  time,  he  thought  was  the  grandest  and  most  sub 
lime  idea  ever  conceived.  Of  the  statue  of  Washington, 
by  Greenough,  he  thought  the  anatomy  perfect,  though  he 
could  not  associate  Washington  with  the  statue.  The 
crowd  of  visitors,  so  far  as  he  could  learn,  invariably  con 
demned  it  for  want  of  historical  truth.  He  came  to  the 
conclusion,  while  standing  there,  that,  should  he  ever  have 
an  order  for  a  statue,  the  world  should  find  fault  for  his 
giving  too  much  truth,  and  not  for  want  of  it. 

An  accidental  circumstance  here  gave  rise  to  the  order 


332  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

for  the  Jackson  statue.  He  was  introduced  to  the  Hon. 
Cave  Johnson,  then  postmaster-general,  and  president  of 
the  Jackson  Monument  Committee,  who,  on  learning  his 
intention  to  visit  Europe,  proposed  that  he  should  give  a 
design  for  a  bronze  equestrian  statue  of  General  Jackson. 
Never  having  seen  General  Jackson  or  an  equestrian  statue, 
he  felt  himself  incompetent  to  execute  a  work  of  such 
magnitude,  and  positively  refused.  The  incident,  however, 
made  an  impression  upon  his  mind  ;  and  he  reflected  suffi 
ciently  to  produce  a  design  which  was  the  very  one  subse 
quently  executed,  and  which  now  adorns  the  public  square 
in  front  of  the  White  House.  He  concluded  to  accept  Mr. 
Johnson's  offer;  and,  after  nine  mouths  of  patient  labor, 
he  succeeded  in  bringing  out  a  miniature  model,  on  a  new 
principle,  which  was,  to  bring  the  hind  legs  of  the  horse 
exactly  under  the  centre  of  his  body,  which  of  course  pro 
duced  a  perfect  balance,  thereby  giving  the  horse  more 
the  appearance  of  life  ;  the  model  was  adopted  by  the 
committee.  A  contract  was  made  for  the  sum  of  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  the  bronze  to  be  furnished  by  the  com 
mittee.  Two  years'  labor  and  hard  study,  and  he  finished 
the  plaster  model.  After  waiting  nearly  nine  months, 
Congress  appropriated  the  old  cannon  captured  by  General 
Andrew  Jackson  ;  and,  under  various  disheartening  circum 
stances,  the  breaking  of  cranes,  the  bursting  of  furnaces, 
after  six  failures  in  the  body  of  the  horse,  he  finally  tri 
umphed,  and  on  the  8th  of  January,  1853,  the  statue  was 
dedicated.  Soon  after,  Congress  voted  him  twenty  thou 
sand  dollars  to  remunerate  him  for  his  services.  The  sum 
of  fifty  thousand  dollars  wras  afterward  voted  for  an  eques 
trian  statue  of  General  George  Washington  ;  and  that  also 
occupies  a  central  position  in  the  metropolis.  In  the  fol 
lowing  spring,  the  city  of  New  Orleans  voted  thirty-five 


CLARK   MILLS.  333 

thousand  dollars  for  a  duplicate  of  the  Jackson  statue. 
A  farm  was  purchased  on  the  Baltimore  and  Washington 
Turnpike,  about  three  miles  from  Washington,  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  the  necessary  buildings,  studio,  and 
foundry. 

Having  completed  the  buildings,  he  was  about  to  com 
mence  work  when  a  gale  destroyed  the  studio.  Before  it 
was  rebuilt,  the  foundry  was  destroyed  by  fire  ;  but  it  was 
rebuilt  as  soon  as  possible.  After  finishing  the  statue  for 
New  Orleans,  lie  commenced  the  statue  of  Washington, 
which  was  completed  and  dedicated  on  the  22d  of  Febru 
ary,  IflGO.  The  living  horse  after  which  this  statue  was 
modelled  was  captured  on  a  prairie  near  Fort  Leavenworth, 
and  was  considered  a  remarkably  fine  animal.  He  was 
subsequently  purchased  of  the  artist  by  his  friend  James 
II.  Hammond,  of  South  Carolina,  as  an  acquisition  to  his 
extensive  stud.  In  June,  1HGO,  Mr.  Mills  commenced  the 
work  of  casting  the  statue  of  freedom,  after  Crawford's 
design,  which  was  completed  in  18G3,  and  now  stands 
above  the  dome  of  the  Capitol. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  another  self-made  man, 
and  one  of  the  most  fortunate  of  American  artists.  That 
he  possessed  genius  of  a  huh  order  cannot  be  doubted ; 
and  if  his  works  do  not  display  all  the  conventional  graces 
of  European  art,  he  has  certainly  produced  two  statues 
which  are  original,  and  in  keeping  with  the  manly  vigor 
of  the  great  Republic.  And  this  I  take  pleasure  in  say 
ing,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  this,  that  a  number  of 
upstart  critics  have  attempted  to  disparage  his  productions. 
In  ItfGG,  Mr.  Mills  invented  a  second  method  for  taking 
busts  in  a  manner  peculiarly  his  own  ;  and  while  he  was 
assisted  by  one  son,  who  inherited  his  father's  genius,  he 
received  at  the  same  time  the  gratifying  news  from  Munich 


334  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

that  another  son,  who  had  been  studying  there  the  art  of 
the  sculptor,  had  been  honored  with  the  first  prize  of  the 
Academy,  and  was  the  first  American  who  had  ever  re 
ceived  a  prize  from  that  institution.  And  I  chronicle 
the  fact  with  pleasure,  that  those  two  sons  were  a  great 
comfort  to  their  father  in  his  later  years. 

Mr.  Mills  died  in  "Washington,  on  the  12th  of  January, 
1883,  after  a  protracted  illness,  and  was  buried  with  all 
the  honors  due  to  his  reputation  as  a  most  honorable  and 
worthy  man,  and  a  self-taught  artist  of  uncommon  abilities. 


CHARLES   P.    McILVAINE. 

THE  death  of  this  eminent  man,  March  12,  1873,  re 
minded  me  of  the  fact  that  I  became  acquainted  with  him 
more  than  forty  years  before.  It  was  before  he  was  con 
secrated  a  bishop,  and  whilst  he  was  visiting  the  country 
which  was  to  become  his  see.  He  happened  to  be  in  the 
village  of  Monroe,  on  the  river  Raisin,  in  Michigan,  on 
the  occasion  of  a  school  exhibition,  and  when  the  present 
writer  "spoke  his  first  piece."  It  was  a  little  poem  en 
titled  "The  Orphan  Boy,"  by  Mrs.  Opie  ;  and  because  it 
was  a  pathetic  piece,  and  the  speaker  cried  from  fear, 
during  its  delivery,  the  effect  was  striking ;  the  audience 
thought  the  boy  a  good  actor,  and  the  embryo  bishop 
patted  him  on  the  head,  and  spoke  a  kindly  word,  which 
the  latter  has  never  forgotten.  To  say  that  he  has  been 
a  Mcllvaine  man  from  that  time,  would  be  superfluous ; 
and  what  is  a  little  singular,  the  residence  of  the  writer 
is  to-day  within  a  two-minutes'  walk  of  the  church  in 
Georgetown,  D.  C.,  where  the  bishop  commenced  his 
ministry. 


CHARLES    P.    McILVAINE.  335 

That  Bishop  Mcllvaine  was  a  noble  Christian  gentle 
man,  an  impressive  orator,  a  successful  author,  a  most 
useful  and  influential  prelate,  and  rendered  the  world  very 
great  service  by  his  writings  on  the  Christian  religion,  are 
facts  that  cannot  be  doubted,  and  he  must  be  remembered 
as  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  Americans. 

AVhen  engaged  in  compiling  my  "  Dictionary  of  Con 
gress,"  it  became  my  duty  to  call  upon  Bishop  Mcllvaine, 
for  some  information  in  regard  to  his  father,  who  had  been 
a  senator  in  Congress  ;  and  two  letters  which  he  sent  me, 
at  the  time,  have  a  historical  value,  and  I  submit  them  to 
the  public  for  their  edification.  In  one  of  them  he  gives 
us  a  very  decided  opinion  of  what  he  thought  of  the  Amer 
ican  Congress  in  1800;  and  it  was  perhaps  a  blessing  to 
him  that  he  died  in  Florence,  before  he  could  be  fully  in 
formed  as  to  the  disgrace  which  fell  upon  the  Forty- 
second  Congress,  when  a  large  number  of  its  members 
placed  themselves  upon  the  roll  of  disloyalty.  The  let 
ters  alluded  to  are  as  follows  :  — 

CINCINNATI,  Jan.  27,  1860. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  do  indeed  owe  you  an  apology  for  not 
having  sooner  answered  your  kind  letter  of  Nov.  '24. 
Partly  ill  health,  requiring  abstinence  from  work,  has  been 
the  cause,  but  principally  that  I  hoped  to  find  some  papers 
which  would  have  aided  me  in  the  particulars  necessary  to 
enable  me  to  answer  the  object  as  to  my  father.  I  have 
failed  to  find  them,  but  hope  to  do  without  them  by  reason 
of  information  expected  from  my  elder  brother  in  New 
York. 

I  am  much  obliged  for  the  interesting  remembrance  of 
the  school  exhibition  in  Monroe,  and  the  kind  manner  in 
which  you  mention  me  in  that  connection,  and  in  subse- 


336  HAPHAZARD  PERSONALITIES. 

quent  relations.     I  remember  Mr.  Dodge  very  well,  and 
beg  my  kind  remembrance  to  his  daughter. 

If  you  write  a  history  or  dictionary  of  the  present  ses 
sion  of  Congress,  you  will  have  a  chapter  indeed.  What 
a  disgrace  to  civilization  !  What  a  sign  to  governments 
elsewhere,  concerning  self-government  by  the  people.  We 
want  a  Cromwell  to  turn  out  the  House  of  Representatives, 
if  we  could  find  the  Cromwell  that  could  substitute  a 
better.  Only  God  can  save  us  from  our  politicians. 

Yours  very  truly, 

CHARLES  P.  MC!LVAINE. 

CINCINNATI,  Feb.  15,  1800. 

My  dear  /Sir,  —  I  set  down  for  you  the  following  par 
ticulars  concerning  my  father,  out  of  which  you  can  select 
what  you  may  find  most  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of 
your  work :  — 

Joseph  Mcllvaine,  Esq.,  was  born  in  Bristol,  Bucks 
County,  Penn.,  in  the  year  1708.  Colonel  Joseph  Mc 
llvaine,  the  descendant  of  Scotch  ancestors  from  Ayrshire, 
Scotland,  was  a  zealous  Whig  during  the  Revolution,  against 
whom  the  fiercest  enmity  of  the  Tories  in  that  part  of 
Pennsylvania  was  exhibited.  Under  their  instigation,  the 
British  offered  a  reward  to  any  that  would  take  him,  dead 
or  alive.  Joseph,  his  son,  married  Maria  Reed,  daughter 
of  Bower  Reed,  Esq.,  secretary  of  state  in  New  Jersey, 
who  was  brother  to  Joseph  Reed,  president  of  the  Com 
monwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  under  the  old  Confederation, 
and  previously  General  Washington's  secretary,  aide-de 
camp,  and  adjutant-general. 

1781.  Mr.  Mcllvaiue  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New 
Jersey. 


CHARLES    P.    McILVAINE.  337 

1798.  In  the  French  war  he  raised  a  company  of  vol 
unteers  in  Burlington,  N.  J.  (where,  from  an  early  pre 
vious  period  till  his  death,  he  resided) ,  of  which  he  was 
the  captain.  The  company  was  attached  to  McPherson's 
regiment  of  Blues,  and  nominally  under  command  of 
Washington.  At  the  same  time  he  was  aid  to  General 
Bloomfield,  under  whose  immediate  command  were  the 
State  troops  of  New  Jersey. 

1800.  He  was   elected   clerk   of   Burlington   County, 
N.  J.,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold  by  successive  re- 
elections,  until  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  ;  a  period  of  twenty-four  years. 

1801.  He  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Jefferson  attorney  of 
the  United  States  for  the  District  of  New  Jersey,  which,  by 
appointments  under  successive  Presidents,  —  the  last  by 
Mr.  Monroe,  —  he  continued  to  hold  fora  period  of  twenty 
years.     The   office  was   occupied   on   his  election  to  the 
Senate. 

1804.  He  was  appointed  aid  to  the  governor  of  New 
Jersey  (General  Bloomfield,  his  uncle  by  marriage  with 
his  father's  sister),  with  the  rank  of  colonel. 

1818.  He  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  New  Jersey,  by  Governor  Williamson,  but  declined  the 
office. 

1823,  1824.  In  the  winter  of  these  years  he  was 
elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  from  New 
Jersey.  During  his  term  of  office  he  died  at  his  residence 
in  Burlington,  N.  J.,  on  the  19th  of  August,  1826,  in  his 
fifty-eighth  year. 

Mr.  Mcllvaine  was  eminent  as  a  lawyer,  and  one  of 

those  who,  in  the  best  days  of  Richard  Stockton  and  the 

late   Governors  Williamson  and  Pennington,  occupied  a 

chief  place  at  the  bar  of  New  Jersey.     He  was  a  gentle- 

22 


338  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

man  of  polished  manners,  most  benevolent  spirit,  and  un 
blemished  morals,  whose  high  honor  and  scrupulous  integ 
rity  in  every  transaction  of  life  drew  upon  him  the 
universal  confidence  and  the  affectionate  respect  of  all 
with  whom  he  was  associated  in  office,  in  business,  or  in 
social  life.  Very  truly  yours, 

CHARLES  P.  MC!LVAINE. 

Bishop  Mcllvaine  was  consecrated  in  October,  1832, 
and  therefore,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  had  held  his  high 
office  more  than  forty  years.  As  an  author,  his  reputation 
will  probably  be  quite  equal  to  any  of  his  predecessors  in 
the  church  ;  but  it  has  been  said  of  him  that  he  had  no 
equal  in  his  power  for  illustrating  the  truths  of  Scripture 
by  its  own  records. 

The  strength  and  simplicity  of  his  character  were  in 
keeping  with  the  purity  of  his  life  and  his  abilities  ;  and 
when  we  remember  the  variety  and  importance  of  his 
experiences,  there  is  something  very  charming  in  a  ref 
erence  that  he  once  made  to  his  favorite  hymn  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

"I  have  chosen  a  sweet  hymn,  —  'Just  as  I  am,'  — 
and  have  adopted  it  for  all  time  to  come,  as  long  as  I 
shall  be  here,  as  my  hymn.  It  contains  my  religion,  my 
theology,  my  hope." 

At  the  time  Mr.  Mcllvaine  was  located  in  Georgetown 
(as  I  have  learned  from  one  of  the  oldest  residents) ,  it 
was  not  customary  for  the  white  citizens  to  teach  the  slave 
population  ;  but  among  those  who  thought  proper  to  per 
form  that  task  in  Georgetown  was  a  very  worthy  young 
Quaker,  named  George  Shoemaker.  The  Sunday  school 
over  which  he  presided  was  evidently  connected  with 
Christ  Church,  and  for  that  reason  the  pastor  thereof  one 


MARTIN    F.    TUPPER.  339 

day  said  to  Mr.  Shoemaker  that  he  must  remember  the 
souls  of  the  colored  people  were,  in  one  sense,  in  his 
keeping  ;  that  he  was  responsible  for  their  ultimate  happi 
ness.  This,  of  course,  was  only  intended  as  a  friendly 
warning,  but  the  worthy  Quaker  took  offence  at  the  re 
mark,  and  forthwith  gave  up  the  position  of  religious 
instructor.  The  subsequent  career  of  the  bishop  proved 
conclusively  that  he  was  not  only  a  liberal  man  in  his 
religious  opinions,  but  a  good  friend  of  the  slaves.  As  to 
Mr.  Shoemaker,  he  died  in  Georgetown,  at  an  advanced 
age,  and  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  worthy  and 
benevolent  men  who  were  ever  identified  with  the  place. 


MARTIN   F.  TUPPER. 

MY  acquaintance  with  this  noted  author  was  only  such 
as  may  be  enjoyed  through  a  friendly  correspondence,  and 
that  on  my  part  was  most  gratifying.  I  was  introduced 
to  him  by  N.  P.  Willis,  and  he  did  me  various  favors 
which  deserved  and  received  my  gratitude.  One  of  them 
had  reference  to  the  republication,  in  England,  by  Rich 
ard  Bentley,  of  my  "Tour  to  the  River  Saguenay."  It 
came  out  with  an  error  in  its  title,  which  had  been 
changed,  and  with  a  portrait  of  the  author  that  was  not 
satisfactory  ;  and  in  one  of  his  letters,  Mr.  Tupper  made 
an  allusion  to  those  particulars,  and  also  gave  me  a  bit  of 
his  "Philosophy"  on  the  subject  of  criticism,  which  is 
especially  interesting,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  has  been 
more  savagely  and  persistently  criticised  than  any  other 
respectable  author,  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century, 
resulting  in  a  popularity  almost  unequalled  in  the  annals 
of  literature.  The  letter  was  as  follows  :  — 


340  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

ALBURY,  GUILDFORD,  Feb.  21, 1848. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Albeit  I  am  not  now  quite  so  near  a 
neighbor  to  Mr.  Bentlcy  as  I  was  some  two  years  ago,  — 
the  difference  being  as  thirty  miles  to  next  door,  —  I  never 
theless  have  managed  to  see  him  on  the  subjects  of  your 
note,  and  (I  trust)  have  done  you  service.  First,  then, 
with  respect  to  the  delicate  message  upon  money  matters, 
I  was  glad  to  hear  from  Mr.  Bentley  that  he  had  already 
very  recently  written  to  you,  rendering  an  account,  which 
will,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  be  satisfactory  in  all  points  ;  at 
any  rate,  I  had  no  business  to  inquire  further,  on  so  very 
personal  a  matter. 

Secondly.  The  Nova  Scotia  title-page  is  condemned 
throughout  all  the  impression,  and  a  new  one  will  be  im 
mediately  substituted  for  it. 

Thirdly.  With  regard  to  criticism,  Dr.  Johnson  truly 
observed  that  "  literary  fame  is  a  shuttlecock  that  must  be 
hit  on  both  sides  to  be  kept  flying"  ;  with  us,  as  probably 
with  you,  nothing  d — us  a  book  but  its  own  demerits,  or 
other  folks'  neglect.  A  well-abused  author  has  scarcely 
fewer  friends  than  a  well-praised  one  ;  and  we  Britishers 
always  stand  by  persecuted  innocence,  especially  in  the 
case  of  unprotected  absentees.  I  would  not  then  (as  you 
ask  my  advice)  move  at  all  in  the  matter,  but  leave  any 
past  critical  rancor  (supposing  you  have  any  to  complain 
of)  to  the  public  forgetfulness,  or  its  mindful  equity  ;  it 
never,  with  us,  does  an  author  good  —  but  the  contrary  — 
to  seem  to  care  about  what  ye  critics  say  about  him.  We 
go  calmly  on  in  Mohican  serenity,  unheeding,  or  appear 
ing  not  to  heed,  both  praise  and  blame  ;  and  this  is  a 
worldly  wisdom. 

Never  mind  the  portrait ;  it  is  well  enough  and  hand 
some  enough.  I  see  no  harm  in  it,  and  moreover  it  can 
not  be  helped  now. 


MARTIN    F.    TUPPER.  341 

I  have  got  your  book,  and  will  road  it ;  and  if  I  like  it 
(as  it  would  be  impolite  to  doubt)  I  will  send  a  favorable 
notice  to  one  or  other  of  our  journals,  and  you  shall  huve 
a  copy,  if  and  when  my  verdict  is  inserted.  As,  however, 
I  am  in  no  way  connected  with  the  press,  and  only  an 
occasional  volunteer  of  such  friendly  matters,  I  cannot 
command  either  much  space  or  frequent  insertion  ;  but 
I '11  do  the  best  I  can  for  you,  and  one  word  of  honest 
praise  will  tell  better  than  pages  of  depreciated  hostility. 
Thanking  you  for  your  kind  expressions  and  with  kind 
regards  to  Willis,  who  also  gets  a  letter  by  this  packet, 

I  am  very  truly  yours  (unseen) , 

MARTIN  F.  TUPPER. 

Nearly  every  review,  magazine,  and  critical  journal,  pub 
lished  in  his  time,  had  its  say  about  this  famous  writer, 
but  his  friends  have  certainly  outnumbered  his  enemies, 
and  have  carried  the  day.  The  motive  which  prompted 
his  "Proverbial  Philosophy""  was  creditable  and  Christian- 
like  ;  it  was  not  equal  to  Shakespeare,  nor  did  it  aspire  to 
such  a  position ;  it  carried  pure  and  comforting  thoughts 
into  thousands  of  domestic  circles,  without  leaving  behind 
it  the  poisonous  slime  which  emanates  from  the  popular 
or  fashionable  press ;  and  I  have  thought  that  I  would 
much  prefer  to  be  shut  up  from  the  world  with  that 
curious  book  than  with  a  thousand  and  one  of  the  novels 
and  scientific  dissertations  which  flood  the  bookstalls 
and  libraries  of  the  present  day.  In  1838  the  London 
Athenaeum  spoke  of  "  Proverbial  Philosophy  "  as  a  failure, 
and  destined  to  have  merely  a  family  circulation,  and  it 
continued  its  spiteful  warfare  until  1807,  when  it  made 
itself  ridiculous  by  drawing  a  comparison  between  Tupper 


342  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  King  Solomon.  In  1848  the  London  Literary  Gazette 
said  of  Tapper  that  he  was  an  original  thinker  and  a 
genuine  poet ;  and  in  1855  spoke  of  his  popularity  as  a 
healthy  symptom  of  the  prevailing  taste  in  literature,  and 
of  his  style  as  irresistibly  pleasing  by  its  earnestness  and 
eloquence.  Heartless  men  of  the  world  and  literary  snobs 
have  always  been  against  this  writer,  but  he  acquired  a 
fortune  by  his  pen,  and  lives  in  a  quiet  and  luxurious 
style,  which  has  long  been  the  envy  of  his  detractors. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Tupper's  visit  to  this  country  during 
the  centennial  year,  and  the  publication  of  his  "  Drama  of 
Washington,"  I  can  say  nothing,  for  at  this  present  writ 
ing  I  have  seen  neither  the  man  nor  the  poem. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  STEPHENS. 

IT  was  in  the  month  of  January,  1848,  that  I  first  visited 
Washington,  and  the  first  man  that  I  heard  deliver  a 
speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  Alexander  H. 
Stephens.  His  attenuated  form,  shrill  and  peculiar  voice, 
and  wonderful  earnestness  riveted  my  attention,  and  as  he 
proceeded  in  his  remarks,  I  said  to  a  friend  seated  near 
me  that  I  did  not  believe  the  speaker  would  live  to  finish 
his  speech.  Thirty-five  years  had  passed  away  since 
then,  and  Mr.  Stephens  was  not  only  living,  but  after  a 
strange,  eventful  history,  became,  in  1883,  the  governor 
of  the  State  of  Georgia. 

My  introduction  to  this  noted  man  came  through  Gales 
&  Seaton,  who  were  anxious  that  I  should  consult  with 
him  prior  to  my  going  to  the  Southern  States  as  their  cor 
respondent  in  1848.  Among  the  many  letters  that  I  pub 
lished  in  the  Intelligencer  were  two,  about  Tallulah  and 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  343 

Dahlonega,  which  contained  some  tolerably  large  stories 
about  the  people  of  that  portion  of  Georgia.  By  way  of 
testing  my  integrity  as  a  writer,  Mr.  Gales  called  upon 
Mr.  Stephens  and  questioned  him  as  to  the  correctness  of 
my  assertions  in  one  of  my  letters,  and  the  reply,  as  after 
ward  reported  to  me  by  Mr.  Gales  as  well  as  Mr.  Stephens, 
was  as  follows:  "That  letter  is  true  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  I  am  surprised  that  any  stranger  could  have 
written  such  faithful  descriptions."  It  was  that  criticism 
and  the  letters  in  question,  I  have  always  thought,  which 
won  for  me,  more  than  anything  else,  the  long-continued 
friendship  of  Gales  &  Seaton  and  of  Mr.  Stephens. 

During  the  ten  years  preceding  the  great  Rebellion,  I 
saw  much  of  Mr.  Stephens,  and  not  only  enjoyed  his 
friendship,  but  greatly  profited  by  his  wisdom  as  a  scholar 
and  statesman,  and  his  influence  as  a  man.  Such  a  clear 
intellect,  such  a  kind  and  loving  heart,  such  gentle  man 
ners  and  unselfishness,  and  such  rare  integrity,  I  have 
seldom  if  ever  seen  combined  in  any  human  being.  "NVith 
regard  to  his  course  when  the  war  commenced,  I  can  only 
say  that  I  regretted  it,  as  well  as  the  inevitable  necessities 
of  his  position  ;  and  yet  while  the  war  was  progressing  I 
looked  upon  him  as  a  better  patriot  than  thousands  of 
those  who  shouted  for  the  Union,  remained  at  home,  and 
filled  their  coffers  to  repletion.  Among  those  who  assisted 
me  while  engaged  in  compiling  my  "  Dictionary  of  Con 
gress,"  Mr.  Stephens  was  conspicuous,  and  he  manifested 
his  interest  in  my  success  by  making  a  proposition  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  that  I  should  be  patronized  by 
the  government,  while  a  similar  effort  was  made  in  the 
Senate  by  William  II.  Seward. 

The  return  of  Mr.  Stephens  to  the  United  States  Con 
gress  in  December,  1873,  was  an  event  which  impressed 


344  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

the  whole  community,  and  caused  as  great  an  excitement 
as  did  the  return  to  the  same  position  of  John  Quincy 
Adams  after  he  had  served  as  President ;  and  it  may  be 
new  to  many  persons  to  learn  that  one  of  the  most  graceful 
poems  which  the  ex-President  ever  penned  was  in  honor 
of  his  friend,  Mr.  Stephens,  as  follows  :  — 

TO   A.    H.    STEPHENS,    ESQ.,    OF   GEORGIA. 

Say,  by  what  sympathetic  charm, 

What  mystic  magnet's  secret  sway, 
Drawn  by  some  unresisted  arm, 

We  come  from  regions  far  away? 

From  North  and  South,  from  East  and  West, 

Here  in  the  People's  Hall  we  meet 
To  execute  their  high  behest 

In  counci  and  communion  sweet. 

We  meet  as  strangers  in  this  hall ; 

But  when  our  task  of  duty 's  done, 
We  blend  the  common  good  of  all 

And  melt  the  multitude  in  one. 

As  strangers  in  this  hall  we  met ; 

But  now  with  one  united  heart, 
Whate'er  of  life  awaits  ns  yet, 

In  cordial  friendship  let  us  part. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  of  Quincy,  Mass. 
H.  R.  U.  8.,  14th  June,  1844. 

I  was  among  the  first  to  cull  and  pay  my  respects  to 
him,  at  his  hotel,  and  he  welcomed  me  as  if  I  had  been  a 
long-lost  friend.  He  talked  about  the  past  in  rather  a 
pensive  mood,  and  although  he  was  too  feeble  in  body 
even  to  rise  from  his  chair  without  help,  he  alluded  to  his 
bad  health,  but  did  not  utter  a  word  of  complaint.  During 
the  interview,  a  colored  man  was  announced,  when  he 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  315 

asked  to  be  excused  for  a  moment  while  he  attended  to  a 
little  matter  of  business,  which  was,  to  give  the  man  a 
letter  whereby  he  might  obtain  a  position  as  messenger  in 
one  of  the  departments.  A  few  weeks  afterwards,  when 
it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Stephens  would  deliver  a 
speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  galleries  were 
more  densely  packed  than  they  had  been  during  the  whole 
winter,  and  the  words  of  the  great  Southern  statesman 
had  the  same  clarion  ring  which  distinguished  them  in  the 
old  times.  His  subject  theme  was  interesting,  but  what 
chiefly  impressed  those  of  his  audience  who  were  familiar 
with  his  history  were  the  leading  facts  of  that  history, 
viz.,  how  he  was  the  son  of  a  farmer,  and  was  left  an 
orphan  at  the  age  of  fourteen  ;  how  he  earned  the  money 
by  hard  work  which  enabled  him  to  obtain  a  thorough  edu 
cation  ;  how  he  had  suffered  from  bad  health  all  his  life, 
and  had  seldom  weighed  more  than  one  hundred  pounds  ; 
how  he  had  acquitted  himself  as  a  lawyer  and  a  scholar, 
as  a  State  legislator  and  a  member  of  Congress  ;  how  he 
had  escaped  death  from  the  assaults  of  brutal  opponents 
in  politics  as  well  as  from  railway  accidents ;  how  he 
became  vice-president  of  the  ephemeral  Confederacy,  and 
was  lodged  as  a  prisoner  of  war  in  a  Northern  fortress ; 
how  he  was  elected  by  his  restored  State  to  the  United 
States  Senate  and  refused  admittance  ;  and  how  he  was 
re-elected  to  the  National  House  of  Representatives, 
serving  in  all  the  Congresses  down  to  the  year  1882. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Forty-third  Congress,  Mr. 
Stepheris's  health  was  so  poor  that  his  friends  despaired  of 
his  reaching  Georgia  alive,  but,  as  on  numberless  occasions 
before,  his  indomitable  will  carried  him  through  to  his 
home  in  safety.  All  along  his  route  of  travel  his  presence 
was  hailed  with  shouts  of  gladness  and  respect  by  a  loving 


34G  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

people.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  at  Crawfordsville,  and 
as  soon  as  his  strength  would  permit,  he  gave  a  grand  re 
ception,  not  to  politicians  and  starched-up  fashionable 
women,  but  to  more  than  a  thousand  Sunday-school  chil 
dren.  He  received  them  standing  on  the  porch  of  his 
pleasant  residence,  and  while  supported  on  his  crutches, 
and,  after  he  had  given  them  a  feast,  he  favored  them  with 
an  address,  and  when  they  parted  he  shook  hands  affec 
tionately  with  every  one  of  the  children.  The  speech  that 
he  delivered  stands  alone  in  its  religious  character  among 
all  those  that  were  ever  uttered  by  Mr.  Stephens,  and 
some  of  the  sentiments  are  of  such  very  great  interest  that 
I  am  constrained  to  submit  the  following  extracts  :  — 

"Teachers  and  pupils,  patrons  and  friends  of  all  the 
Sunday  schools  here  assembled,  and  to  all  others  present, 
—  adults  and  children,  the  aged  and  the  young,  fathers 
and  mothers,  sons  and  daughters,  who  compose  this  large 
audience, — I  appear  not  only  to  give  you  a  cordial  greet 
ing,  but  my  earnest  and  profound  congratulations  upon 
the  manifestations  of  zeal  you  have  this  day  exhibited  in 
the  great  cause  which  has  brought  you  together.  You 
from  a  distance  have  already  received  a  welcome  from  the 
Sunday  school  in  this  place,  and  more  than  a  twice  or  a 
thrice  welcome  1  give  you  to  these  grounds  and  to  these 
shades  for  the  celebration  of  the  progress  of  the  great 
work  in  which  you  are  engaged.  Would  that  my  extreme 
feebleness  did  not  render  it  utterly  impossible  for  me  to 
address  you  on  this  occasion  as  my  impulse's  prompt !  I 
have  seen  and  addressed  many  large  audiences  in  days 
gone  by,  assembled  in  this  village  to  hear  discussions  upon 
political  questions,  and  matters  that  concerned  their  im 
mediate  temporal  interests ;  but  this  is  the  largest  collec 
tion  of  people  I  ever  saw  congregated  in  this  vicinity  ;  and 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  347 

it  is  not  the  less  gratifying  to  mi?  that  the  present  object 
relates,  not  so  much  to  secular  and  worldly  matters  as  to 
those  which  are  spiritual  and  eternal.  The  one  is  as  small 
in  importance,  when  compared  with  the  other,  as  time  is 
with  eternity. 

u  It  is  true,  the  position  I  now  occupy,  and  the  sphere  I 
now  fill,  is  new  to  me.  Never  before  have  I  addressed 
an  audience,  large  or  small,  upon  topics  relating  exclu 
sively,  not  to  things  of  this  life,  but  to  that  higher  life 
which  is  to  come  after.  If  I  have  not  thus  before  spoken 
publicly  upon  such  subjects,  it  has  not  been  because  I  have 
not  thought  most  intensely  and  profoundly  upon  them 
from  my  earliest  youth.  It  is  a  source  of  high  gratifica 
tion  to  me  to  say  to  you  all  upon  this  occasion,  and  espe 
cially  to  these  little  boys,  that  the  first  awakening  of  such 
thoughts  in  my  mind,  as  well  as  my  first  taste  for  general 
reading,  was  first  quickened  and  brought  into  active  exer 
cise  in  a  Sunday  school.  It  was  at  the  old  Power  Creek 
Log  Meeting-House,  not  five  miles  from  this  place,  more 
than  a  half -century  ago,  I  became  a  pupil  in  what  was 
known  as  a  '  Union  Sunday  school.'  The  day  I  entered 
it  was  a  great  epoch  in  my  life.  It  was  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer  the  school  was  opened,  or  when  I  entered 
it,  and  though  but  a  small  boy  at  the  time,  still  I  had  to 
do  such  work  on  the  farm  as  I  was  able  to  do  during  the 
week.  This  was  picking  cotton  or  peas,  or  going  to  mill, 
or  other  light  work  of  like  character.  It  was  only  at 
night,  and  by  a  pine-knot  light,  that  I  had  any  opportunity 
to  study  the  lessons  assigned  me  ;  and  yet  so  deeply  did  I 
become  interested  in  the  questions  of  the  Union  Catechism, 
that  two  o'clock  often  found  me  poring  over  the  chapters 
of  the  Bible  set  apart  for  the  next  Sunday's  examination. 
To  the  impressions  thus  made  I  am  indebted  in  no  small 


348  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

degree  for  my  whole  future  course  in  life,  whether  it  has 
been  for^good  or  for  evil.  If,  in  the  midst  of  any  evil 
that  has  marred  that  course,  there  is  anything  good  to  be 
found,  or  anything  worthy  of  imitation,  then  it  is  due  to 
that  Sunday  school,  and  to  that  great  cause  which  you  to 
day  celebrate  with  inspiring  mottoes,  banners,  and  music." 

He  then  discoursed  upon  modern  rationalism,  saying  :  — 

"  Never  before,  perhaps,  as  I  have  said,  were  the  great 
truths  of  the  Bible,  from  Genesis  to  Revelations,  more 
powerfully  assailed  than  at  present.  Those  who  lead  the 
assault  are  the  Rationalists  referred  to.  They  are  also 
known  as  Materialists  in  philosophy.  They  are  indeed 
philosophers  of  a  high  order,  and  many  of  them  have 
done  a  vast  deal  towards  the  advancement  of  physical 
science  in  this  day  and  generation ;  but  upon  the  subject 
of  religion,  or  man's  relation  to  the  Deity,  they  have  done 
and  are  doing  infinite  mischief.  These  writers,  among 
whom  may  be  named  Compte,  Huxley,  Spencer,  Darwin, 
and  many  others  of  the  same  school,  you  may  be  assured 
are  making  a  deep  impression  on  the  thinkers  of  the  age. 
Their  disciples  are  numerous,  including  men,  and  women, 
too,  of  minds  of  the  highest  order.  This  fact  is  not  to  be 
ignored.  The  assaults  of  this  school  are  to  be  met,  and 
their  sophisms  answered  and  confuted  by  the  Sunday 
school,  by  upholding  and  sustaining,  as  it  is  your  mission 
to  do,  the  plain  and  simple  and  spiritual  truths  of  the 
Bible." 

Having  exposed  with  great  ability  the  sophistries  of 
these  writers,  he  concluded  his  address  by  saying  :  — 

''These  are  some, of  the  plain  and  simple  truths, 
teachers,  which,  I  have  thought  it  proper  to  say,  you 
should  impress  upon  the  minds  of  your  pupils.  By  these 
doctrines  and  principles  they  will  not  only  be  shielded 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON   STEPHENS.  349 

against  the  errors  stated,  but  their  innate  moral  sense  will 
be  cultivated,  their  spiritual  attributes  of  worship  and 
devotion  will  be  developed  through  the  mysterious  agency 
of  prayer ;  and  their  regeneration  —  that  new  spiritual 
birth  —  through  faith,  so  essential  to  salvation,  will  be 
consummated  ;  and  by  which  their  fallen  human  natures 
will  be  elevated  and  sublimated  to  a  proper  fitness  for  that 
higher  life,  in  which  they  will  be  in  perfect  and  eternal 
communion  with  their  Creator. 

"To  you,  little  children,  I  say,  'let  no  one  deceive 
you ' ;  let  no  tempting  doctrines  of  any  philosopher,  how 
ever  learned,  beguile  you  into  the  belief  that  you  have  not 
in  you  something  that  places  you  high  in  the  scale  of  exist 
ence  above  the  bare  brute,  —  the  horse  or  the  dog.  Ever 
keep  it  in  your  memories  that  you  have  not  only  a  body 
with  its  various  members,  and  an  intellect  to  control  these 
members,  but  that  you  have  within  you  a  soul,  a  spiritual 
part,  which  gives  you  immortality.  Recollect  that,  accord 
ing  to  the  Divine  teaching,  the  body  is  the  temple  of  God ; 
and  should,  therefore,  not  be  neglected,  or  unduly  cared 
for,  but  that  it,  as  well  as  the  intellect  and  the  soul,  should 
be  duly  cultivated  and  developed,  so  as  to  fit  them  in  the 
resurrection  for  that  life  hereafter,  where  there  will  be  no 
more  pain  nor  suffering,  but  an  eternity  of  perfect  hap 
piness. 

';  With  these  few  precepts  I  must  close,  I  can  stand  no 
longer.  To  the  teachers  I  will  add,  that  it  will  be  a  source 
of  gratification  to  me  if  they  will  bring  the  children  of 
their  respective  schools,  each  in  its  turn  through  the  hall, 
when  I  am  seated,  so  that  I  can  give  each  of  them  a 
shaking  of  the  hand  and  a  parting  farewell.  To  all  the 
rest  I  now  give  a  farewell." 

Should  the  foregoing  not  be  sufficient  to  establish  the 


350  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

religious  character  of  Mr.  Stephens,  the  following  very 
explicit  declaration  made  in  1879  will  be  sufficient:  "I 
am  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  have  been 
since  my  boyish  days.  They  have  never  turned  me  out, 
and  I  -have  tried  to  live  so  that  they  could  never  have  oc 
casion  to  do  so.  I  am  trusting  in  the  atonement  of  Christ 
for  its  cleansing  efficacy.  All  is  clear  through  the  blood 
of  the  covenant." 

On  the  occasion  of  one  of  my  visits  to  Mr.  Stephens's 
rooms  at  the  old  National  Hotel,  I  obtained  the  following  : 
After  the  adjournment  of  Congress  in  18f>9,  he  foresaw 
with  regret  the  coming  troubles;  and,  having  declined  a 
rcnomination  for  Congress,  he  left  Washington  for  Craw- 
fordsville  with  a  heavy  heart.  As  he  was  going  down  the 
Potomac  in  a  steamboat,  to  take  the  cars  at  Aquia  Creek, 
some  of  his  companions  noticed  that  he  seemed  to  cast  a 
lingering  look  at  the  Federal  Capitol.  "You  are  looking 
at  that,"  said  one  of  them,  "thinking  of  the  time  when 
you  will  return  to  it  as  a  senator."  "  Not  at  all,"  replied 
Mr.  Stephens,  "I  am  taking  my  farewell  view,  knowing 
that  I  shall  not  see  it  again  until  I  am  brought  to  the  North, 
a  prisoner  of  state."  And  this  prophecy  was  literally  ful 
filled  when  he  was  sent  to  Fort  Warren,  where  he  was  con 
fined  for  a  period  of  five  months. 

By  way  of  illustrating  the  unwearied  industry  of  Mr. 
Stephens,  it  may  be  stated  that,  in  addition  to  his  arduous 
labors  as  a  congressman,  and  while  constantly  suffering 
from  ill  health,  he  wrote  a  history  of  the  Rebellion  and  one 
or  two  school-books,  and  contributed  to  Johnson's  Cyclo 
paedia  a  large  number  of  biographical  and  other  articles. 
Indeed,  he  was  so  important  a  contributor  as  in  reality  to 
become  one  of  its  editors,  and  the  compensation  he  received 
for  his  services  he  gave  away  in  charity.  Prior  to  the 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  351 

meeting  of  the  second  session  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress 
his  health  was  so  poor  that  he  could  not,  for  a  time,  even 
leave  his  bed  ;  but  his  indomitable  pluck  still  prevailed, 
and  with  great  difficulty  he  made  another  journey  to 
Washington,  and,  in  the  early  part  of  1877,  had  one  of 
the  most  severe  attacks  of  illness  that  he  ever  experi 
enced,  and  was  able  only  on  a  few  occasions  to  occupy  his 
seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  For  many  weeks  he 
was  so  feeble  that  he  could  hardly  turn  in  his  bed  without 
the  help  of  his  nurse  ;  yet  he  received  all  his  visitors  with 
a  smile  or  kindly  word,  —  talking  with  statesmen  about  the 
sad  condition  of  the  country,  with  men  of  letters  'about 
new  books,  and  with  clergymen  about  the  mysteries  of  life 
and  death,  and,  like  a  true  Christian,  expressing  his  entire 
confidence  in  the  promises  of  the  Bible,  and  his  willingness 
to  die  when  the  final  hour  should  arrive. 

But  from  this  attack  of  illness,  as  on  many  occasions 
before,  was  it  his  fortune  to  rally  ;  and  I  saw  him  at  his 
hotel  in  April,  1877,  when  he  was  sitting  in  his  chair,  and 
really  looked  about  as  well  as  when  I  had  first  seen  him 
in  1848.  During  that  visit,  moreover,  he  was  more  talka 
tive  than  usual,  and  some  of  his  conversation  was  really 
interesting.  On  being  questioned  as  to  the  effect  of  so 
much  sickness  upon  his  nerves  and  feelings,  he  replied  as 
follows :  — 

"•  My  long-continued  illness  has  been  to  me  the  greatest 
blessing  of  my  life,  for  the  reason  that  it  has  given  me  a 
sense  of  entire  resignation  to  the  Divine  will.  Indeed  I  have 
never  had  a  well  day  in  my  whole  life,  and  in  my  youth 
did  not  suppose  I  could  ever  attain  the  age  of  forty  years. 
For  six  months  after  the  attack  which  came  upon  me  in 
1869,  I  could  not  leave  my  bed  ;  and  for  nearly  three  and 
a  half  years  afterwards  I  never  left  my  room  ;  and  yet, 


HAPttAZAttD   PERSONALITIES. 

during  all  that  time,  I  never  had  one  single  desire  to  go 
abroad,  not  even  down  into  the  village  near  by,  nor  did  I 
wish  for  any  intercourse  with  the  world.  Friends  came 
to  see  me,  and  I  was  glad  to  welcome  them  ;  but  my  mind 
was  taken  up  with  my  '  History  of  the  War '  and  my 
school-book,  and  I  was  perfectly  contented.  Nor  do  I 
remember  that  I  ever  felt  restless  or  uneasy  for  a  single 
moment ;  and  while  I  know  that  I  did  not  cherish  a  single 
thought  against  any  human  being,  I  believe  that  I  did  not 
speak  an  unkind  or  pettish  word  to  any  of  my  servants." 

In  speaking  of  his  servants,  he  said  that  in  1850  a 
young  girl  who  had  been  born  on  his  plantation  came  to 
him  and  said  that  she  wanted  to  marry  a  man  residing  on 
another  estate.  He  gave  her  his  consent,  inquired  into 
the  character  of  the  man,  purchased  him  of  his  master, 
and  from  that  time  until  the  moment  he  was  speaking,  that 
man  and  his  wife  had  been  the  sole  managers  of  all  his 
home  affairs,  keeping  his  house  and  looking  after  the  cul 
tivation  of  his  crops.  The  only  special  privilege  that  this 
faithful  man-servant  has  ever  asked  of  his  employer  was 
that  he  might  be  permitted  to  accompany  Mr.  Stephens  to 
Washington,  and  to  come  after  him  when  ready  to  return 
home  ;  and  this  privilege  was  invariably  granted. 

During  the  long  period  of  illness  here  mentioned,  Mr. 
Stephens's  most  constant  companion  was  a  dog  which  he 
had  raised  from  a  puppy,  and  which  had  recently  died. 
For  nearly  four  years  that  animal  was  never  absent  from 
the  side  of  his  master's  bed  for  a  single  night,  and,  because 
of  one  peculiar  trait,  was  known  throughout  the  region  of 
Crawfordsville  as  the  "crying  dog."  Mr.  Stephens  told 
me  that,  by  calling  this  dog  to  his  side,  and  speaking  of 
himself  in  a  desponding  tone,  the  poor  creature  would 
actually  shed  tears  ;  and,  when  the  complaint  was  contiu- 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON   STEPHENS.  353 

ued,  would  soon  begin  to  utter  a  mournful  howl.  The 
affection  and  intelligence  of  the  animal  he  considered  very 
remarkable. 

In  the  course  of  his  conversation  on  public  affairs,  Mr. 
Stephens  made  two  remarks  which  filled  me  with  surprise  : 
first,  that  in  18GO  the  State  of  Georgia  was  the  wealthiest 
State  in  the  Union  ;  and,  secondly,  that,  at  the  time  he 
was  speaking,  the  country  between  Washington  City  and 
the  Rio  Grande  was  one  vast  region  of  desolation,  instead 
of  being  what  the  Almighty  intended  it  to  be,  the  bright 
est  garden  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  Of  many  public 
men  whom  he  had  opposed  in  politics,  he  spoke  in  the 
kindest  terms  ;  and,  in  commenting  upon  events  that  tran 
spired  a  quarter  of  a  century  before,  he  displayed  a  strength 
of  memory  which  filled  me  with  amazement. 

In  November,  1877,  I  saw  Mr.  Stephens  a  number  of 
times  ;  and,  as  usual,  I  timed  my  visits  so  as  to  avoid,  as 
far  as  possible,  the  stream  of  visitors  which  seemed  always 
to  be  setting  towards  his  hotel.  During  one  of  those  inter 
views,  he  talked  much  about  the  great  authors  and  statesmen 
of  the  past,  and  hardly  a  word  on  politics.  He  spoke  of 
Washington  as  one  of  the  wisest  of  men,  and  went  over  the 
story  of  how  the  Farewell  Address  was  written  with  the 
help  of  Hamilton  and  Madison.  He  spoke  of  his  then 
recent  visit  to  New  York,  by  invitation  of  Mr.  A.  J. 
Johnson,  as  one  of  the  brightest  incidents  of  his  life,  and 
contrasted  it  with  his  passing  through  the  city  a  prisoner 
of  war.  He  had  gone  there  for  a  little  quiet,  but  his  visit 
turned  out  to  be  a  continuous  ovation,  for  which  he  was 
exceedingly  grateful,  as  he  was  latterly  enjoying  the  heart- 
world  more  than  ever.  A  visit  that  Mr.  Hayes  had  re 
cently  made  he  highly  appreciated,  and  spoke  of  him  in 
very  kind  and  complimentary  terms. 
23 


354  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

In  his  appearance  and  manners  Mr.  Stephens  was  often 
compared  with  John  Randolph,  but  in  their  hearts  the  two 
men  were  very  different.  With  all  his  sincere  love  for  his 
fellow-men,  it  was  sometimes  possible  for  Mr.  Stephens  to 
make  a  sharp  retort,  and  perhaps  one  of  the  best  he  ever 
uttered  was  the  following,  when  the  rioted  John  P.  Hale 
once  remarked  to  him  that  he  might  be  tempted  to  swallow 
him  whole  if  he  did  not  take  care,  the  prompt  reply  was, 
"  You  would  then  have  more  brains  in  your  belly  than  you 
have  in  your  head." 

In  February,  1882,  I  visited  Mr.  Stephens  with  my 
Japanese  ward,  Miss  Ume  Tsuda,  who  expressed  a  wish 
to  see  the  fanjous  statesman.  -He  treated  her  with  the 
utmost  kindness,  asked  her  for  her  autograph,  said  many 
pleasant  things,  and  on  hearing  that  she  had  never  visited 
the  extreme  Southern  States,  he  gracefully  branched  off 
into  a  description  of  the  Midway  district,  where  he  had 
once  been  a  schoolmaster  for  about  one  year.  The 
place,  he  said,  was  settled  by  Puritans  from  Massa 
chusetts,  in  1G97,  but  was  now  called  one  of  the  dead 
towns  of  Georgia.  Although  these  Puritans  went  to  the 
South  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion,  they  were  in  con 
stant  fear  of  being  killed  by  the  Indians ;  and  although 
they  were  Northern  people,  they  owned  slaves,  and  in  the 
district  where  there  were  only  three  hundred  and  fifty 
white  people,  there  were  fifteen  hundred  slaves.  In  those 
days  people  went  to  church  on  foot  or  horseback,  and 
were  always  armed  with  guns.  The  number  of  men  who 
signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence  from  Georgia  was 
three  ;  and  yet,  strange  to  say,  two  of  them  were  from  the 
town  of  Sunbury,  in  the  district  of  Midway,  which  was 
one  of  the  most  enlightened  and  purest  communities  that 
ever  existed.  During  the  year  1832,  when  he  taught 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  355 

school  there,  he  never  heard  a  single  oath  from  a  white  or 
black  man,  nor  knew  of  a  single  instance  when  spirituous 
liquors  were  sold.  Every  man  in  the  community  attended 
church,  excepting  one,  and  he  was  about  half  deranged, 
and  it  was  common  to  see  four  thousand  negroes  attending 
religious  services  on  Sunday,  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Midway. 

The  experiences  of  Mr.  Stephens,  first  as  an  orphan  boy 
and  then  as  a  young  man  in  bad  health  and  struggling  in 
poverty,  had  a  tendency  to  increase  the  natural  charity  of 
his  nature.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  he  never  refused 
an  appeal  for  help  from  those  who  were  more  needy  than 
himself.  The  instances  in  which  he  took  young  men  by 
the  hand  to  help  them  on  in  life  are  numerous,  and  here  is 
one  of  them  that  I  now  recall.  One  of  them  called  upon 
him  in  Washington,  on  a  certain  occasion,  and  stated  that 
he  wanied  to  be  an  artist,  but  was  too  poor  to  get  along 
without  doing  common  work.  Mr.  Stephens  asked  him  to 
bring  a  specimen  of  his  skill  in  drawing.  This  was  done, 
and  as  Mr.  Stephens  was  pleased  with  it,  he  sent  the 
young  man  to  a  boarding-house,  gave  him  a  little  spare 
money  and  paid  all  his  expenses  ;  and  that  young  man  is 
now  a  successful  artist. 

The  following  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  leading  points 
in  the  useful  and  distinguished  life  of  Mr.  Stephens :  He 
was  born  in  Taliafero  County,  Ga.,  Feb.  11,  1812,  and 
on  the  plantation  previously  occupied  by  his  father  and 
grandfather,  and  where  he  himself  always  resided.  That 
estate  contained  eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  at  one 
time  was  valued  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
His  mother  was  Margaret  Grier,  and  sister  of  the  famous 
almanac  maker,  Robert  Grier  ;  and  his  father's  name  was 
Andrew  B.  Stephens,  who  died  when  the  son  was  fourteen 


356  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

years  of  age.  After  that  event  the  home  plantation  was 
sold,  and  was  subsequently  purchased  by  the  son  from  his 
own  earnings.  He  had  one  sister  and  four  brothers,  none 
of  whom  are  now  living.  His  grandfather  served  in  the 
Revolution,  and  was  present  at  the  defeat  of  General 
Braddock.  He  graduated  at  Franklin  Coliege  in  1832, 
standing  at  the  head  of  his  class  ;  adopted  the  profession 
of  law,  and  entered  public  life  in  183G.  He  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1843,  serving  therein  for  twenty-six  years, 
and  was  almost  constantly  in  public  life  until  his  death. 
His  "  Life  and  Speeches"  were  published  in  18G7,  edited 
by  Henry  Cleveland,  and  in  1878  a  more  elaborate  account 
of  his  career  as  a  statesman  was  published.  He  wrote  a 
work  on  the  "  Political  History"  of  the  United  States,  of 
which,  it  is  said,  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  copies 
were  sold. 

In  1882,  and  while  holding  his  seat  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  he  was  elected  governor  of  Georgia. 
The  last  letter  with  which  he  honored  me  was  dated  the 
3d  of  February,  1883,  and  in  it  he  speaks  of  his  contem 
plated  visit  to  Savannah,  where  he  was  to  deliver  an  ad 
dress  about  Oglethorpe,  and  from  that  visit  he  returned  to 
his  executive  residence  in  Atlanta,  where  he  died,  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1883,  leaving  a  spotless  name,  which  will 
continue  to  blossom  witli  the  coming  years.  Tributes  of 
respect  .and  regret  were  printed  from  one  end  of  the  coun 
try  to  the  other ;  and  the  mourners  who  attended  his  re 
mains  to  their  final  resting-places  are  said  to  have  num 
bered  one  hundred  thousand,  the  whole  of  whom  looked 
upon  him  as  a  personal  friend. 

My  correspondence  with  Mr.  Stephens  was  quite  fre 
quent,  and  in  looking  over  his  letters  T  have  found  several 
of  them  which  are  characteristic  of  the  man,  and  submit 
them  as  follows  :  — 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  357 

CRAWFORDSVILLE,  GA.,  June  21, 1849. 
Dear  Sir, — Your  favor  of  the  15th  hist.,  from  Nor 
wich,  with  its  enclosure,  was  received  this  morning.  As 
to  the  "Portrait"  from  the  New  York  paper,  perhaps  it 
does  not  become  me  to  express  an  opinion,  as  I  might  not 
be  considered  a  disinterested  judge  in  deciding  upon  the 
merits  of  its  resemblance  to  the  original.  The  power  of 
seeing  "  ourselves  as  others  see  us  "  requires  a  peculiar 
endowment  which  few,  if  any,  possess.  Most  men,  how 
ever,  are  not  insensible  to  what  may  be  the  opinion  of 
others  in  regard  to  them  ;  and  hence  a  general  inclination 
to  know  the  nature  and  character  of  the  impressions  pro 
duced  upon  the  minds  of  others  by  their  conduct  and 
actions.  And  when  such  impressions  are  justly  and  truth 
fully  given,  they  form  the  most  instructive  and  valuable 
lessons  to  which  a  man,  who  is  anxious  to  know  his  errors, 
in  order  to  correct  them,  can  devote  his  attention  and 
study.  No  knowledge  is  more  important  than  self-knowl 
edge,  and  no  philosophy  is  more  essential  for  all  men 
thoroughly  to  understand  than  the  philosophy  of  them 
selves.  If  this  philosophy  were  more  generally  cultivated 
and  better  understood,  and  more  commonly  put  into  prac 
tice  than  it  is,  the  world  would  soon  be  infinitely  better  off 
than  the  most  hopeful  and  sanguine  have  any  reason  to 
expect  to  see  it  in  many  a  day  to  come.  Every  expres 
sion  of  an  honest  opinion  or  the  utterance  of  a  sincere  con 
viction,  though  formed  in  the  most  egregious  error,  in 
relation  to  the  character  or  conduct  of  any  man,  if  he  be 
wise,  will  always  be  turned  to  a  profitable  and  useful  ac 
count.  And  here,  in  endeavoring,  as  I  do,  to  act  upon 
this  principle,  without  assuming  the  attribute  which  the 
premise  would  seem  to  imply,  such  matters  as  the  "  Por 
trait  "  (notwithstanding  I  feel  conscious  of  its  incorrect- 


358  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

ness   in   many  particulars)   are   never  considered   unwel 
come  or  offensive.     But  enough  of  this. 

I  sincerely  congratulate  you  upon  your  marriage,  and 
hope  that  the  "honeymoon,"  in  which  you  are  now,  ac 
cording  to  your  letter,  "  luxuriating,"  with  so  much  leisure 
and  pleasure,  may  be  the  prelude  of  a  long  life  of  pros 
perity,  contentment,  and  happiness.  The  day  on  which 
you  had  informed  me  it  would  take  place  did  not  pass 
without  my  thoughts  reverting  to  a  subject  of  so  much 
interest  to  you.  And  I  noticed  in  the  Intelligencer ,  which 
came  to  hand  shortly  afterwards,  that  you  had,  at  the 
appointed  time,  realized  the  full  consummation  of  your 
most  anxious  hopes  and  wishes.  May  I  not  ask  you  to 
present  my  best  wishes  as  well  as  congratulations  to  her, 
who,  though  personally  unknown  to  me,  yet  comes  within 
the  range  of  my  kindest  regards  as  the  sharer  of  your  for 
tunes  through  life,  and  the  partner  of  your  destiny 
whether  "for  weal  or  for  woe." 

Yours  most  sincerely, 

ALEXANDER  II.  STEPHENS. 

Another  letter  which  has  a  bit  of  politics  in  it  is  as 
follows  :  — 

CRAWFORDSVILLE,  GA.,  Aug.  24, 1849. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Your  short  letter  of  the  loth  inst.  was 
received  a  few  days  ago,  and  yesterday  I  received  the  In- 
tellujencer  you  had  the  kindness  to  send  me,  for  which 
please  receive  my  thanks.  I  was  much  taken  with  the 
article  on  the  Protocol  which  it  contained,  and  for  which 
I  suppose  I  was  indebted  to  you  for  sending  it.  The  piece 
is  very  well  and  ably  written.  Who  is  the  author  of  it? 
I  concur  fully  in  the  views  and  reasoning  of  the  article. 
I  considered  the  conduct  of  the  commissioners  as  highly 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  359 

censurable  in  transcending  their  powers  and  even  instruc 
tions.  I5ut  that  was  nothing  to  the  conduct  of  Polk  in 
suppressing  the  paper.  That  was  worse  than  censurable, 
it  was  infamous  and  criminal.  It  was,  in  my  opinion,  an 
impeachable  offence.  Still  I  did  not  think  that  the  treaty, 
as  ratified  by  our  Senate  and  the  Mexican  government, 
was  invalidated  by  it.  The  guarantees  of  the  Protocol 
were  made  without  authority,  and  are  not  binding  upon 
this  government ;  but  Mexico  should  have  been  informed 
of  this  immediately,  to  avoid  all  misunderstanding  and 
difficulties  on  that  account. 

My  health  is  still  feeble.  I  seldom  leave  the  house. 
But  as  the  weather  becomes  more  temperate  I  hope  to  in 
crease  in  strength.  My  time  is  now  occupied  in  reading, 
except  when  I  am  scribbling  letters,  as  I  am  at  this  time, 
which  I  do  barely  to  let  my  friends  know  that  I  am  in 
es.se,  and  cherish  towards  them  all  the  good- will  and  good 
wishes  which  it  is  possible  for  one  mortal  to  entertain  for 
his  fellows.  I  hope  you  will  let  me  know  if  anything  of 
interest  occurs  at  the  seat  of  government. 
Yours  most  respectfully, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 

Passing  over  a  number  of  letters  which  are  either  too 
private  to  print  or  unimportant,  I  now  give  one  which  I 
have  reason  to  believe  was  the  last  which  Mr.  Stephens 
wrote  to  a  Northern  man  prior  to  the  Rebellion,  excepting 
the  famous  one  to  Abraham  Lincoln,  on  the  14th  Decem 
ber.  I860  :  — 

CRAWFORDSVILLE,  GA.,  Sept.  17,  1860. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Your  esteemed  favor  of  the  9th  was  duly 
received,  as  well  as  the  papers  you  sent.  I  had  seen  them 
before.  Such  attacks  I  care  but  little  for.  I  am  truly 


300  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

thankful  to  you,  however,  for  that  interest  you  must  feel 
in  whatever  relates  to  me,  which  caused  you  to  notice  them, 
or  to  call  my  attention  to  them. 

The  condition  of  the  country  is  worse  than  I  ever  knew 
it  to  be  before.  The  excitements  of  1850  and  185G  were 
not  so  threatening,  in  my  opinion,  as  the  dangers  which 
now  beset  us.  What  is  to  become  of  us  I  cannot  tell.  I 
very  much  fear  there  is  not  virtue  and  patriotism  enough 
in  the  country,  either  North  or  South,  to  save  it.  But 
enough  of  this. 

My  health  is  very  poor  indeed.  I  am  exceedingly 
feeble  and  debilitated  ;  have  been  for  several  months. 

I  do  nut  recollect  at  this  time  any  corrections  to  suggest 
in  your  new  edition  of  the  "Dictionary  of  Congress."  I 
believe  I  called  your  attention  heretofore  to  the  omission 
in  the  first  edition  of  the  name  of  James  L.  Seward  —  a 
member  of  the  House  from  this  State  —  at  the  time  the  work 
came  from  the  press.  Besides  this,  I  do  not  now  think  of 
any  other.  With  best  wishes,  I  remain  as  ever, 
Yours  truly, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 

The  following  letters  need  no  explanation  :  — 

LIBERTY  HALL,  CRAWFORDSVILLK,  GA., 

June  i;i,  1875. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  On  my  return  home  on  yesterday,  after 
a  short  absence,  I  found  your  kind  letter  of  the  8th  inst., 
and  T  have  to-day  got  Mr.  G.  A.  Miller,  who  is  my  pres 
ent  secretary,  to  write  to  Messrs.  Ilartridge  and  Smith, 
respectively,  for  the  desired  information.  I  urged  its  im 
portance,  and  trust  it  will  be  forthcoming  soon. 

I  am  truly  glad  to  know  that  you  are  on  the  eighth  edi 
tion  of  your  most  valuable  work.  I  take  the  occasion, 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON   STEPHENS.  3G1 

also,  of  suggesting  to  you  the  correction  of  two  errors  in 
your  first  edition, — one  of  omission,  the  other  of  com 
mission  ;  how  these  stand  in  the  second  edition  I  don't 
know,  as  my  copy  of  that  is  in  Washington. 

But  in  your  first  edition  the  name  of  Seward,  Ja.  L., 
does  not  appear.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Georgia  with  me,  several  years  ;  how  many,  I  don't  re 
member.  He  is  a  native  of  Georgia,  but  where  born  and 
where  educated  I  do  not  know.  He  is  a  lawyer  by  pro 
fession,  and  lives  in  Thomasville,  Ga.  ;  he  entered  the 
State  Legislature  with  me  in  1836,  and  went  to  Congress 
about  1853,  I  think.  He  cut  quite  a  figure,  while  there, 
as  a  sparring  debater,  and  in  all  sorts  of  log-rolling  for  his 
Brunswick  navy  yard.  His  individuality  was  as  deeply  im 
pressed  on  the  House  as  that  of  any  man  in  it,  though  he 
was  not  held  as  possessing  talents  above  mediocrity.  His 
characteristics  are  peculiar,  and  he  is  to-day,  perhaps,  as 
notorious  as  any  man  in  Georgia  ;  hence,  he  ought  not  to  be 
omitted.  You  can  see  from  the  Congressional  Globe  when 
he  was  in  Congress  ;  and  from  the  ''Congressional  Direc 
tories  "  of  the  Thirty-fourth  and  Thirty -fifth  Congresses, 
you  may  get  the  data  for  a  correct  sketch  of  him.  If 
not,  you  had  better  write  to  him  at  Thomasville,  Ga. 

The  other  error  in  the  first  edition,  to  which  I  have 
referred,  occurs  in  the  sketch  of  Irwin,  Jared.  I  do  not 
think  he  ever  moved  to  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  in 
Micklenburg  County,  N.  C.,  in  1750,  came  to  Georgia 
when  a  boy,  and  continued  to  reside  in  this  State  until  his 
death  ;  at  least,  this  is  my  opinion  on  the  subject.  He 
was  president  of  the  State  Convention,  and  governor  of 
the  State,  and  died  as  set  forth  in  your  book.  He  died  at 
his  residence  on  Union  Hill,  Washington  County,  Ga., 
March  1,  1818;  and  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  subse- 


3G2  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

quently  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory.  In  no  sketch 
of  his  life  I  have  ever  seen,  except  in  yours,  is  there  any 
mention  of  his  ever  having  resided  in  Pennsylvania. 

Indeed,  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  error  consists  in  con 
founding  two  distinct  characters.  The  Irwin  Jared  who 
was  in  Congress  from  Pennsylvania,  at  the  time  you  state, 
could  not  have  been  the  Georgia  Irwin  Jared,  whose  acts 
and  death  fit  the  latter,  in  your  sketch.  I  am,  moreover, 
inclined  to  think  that  our  Irwin  Jared  never  was  in  Con 
gress  at  any  time.  I  see  no  mention  of  any  such  position 
held  by  him  in  any  papers  connected  with  his  life,  which 
have  fallen  under  my  observation,  except  as  stated. 
Yours  truly, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 

P.  8.     You   see   the   above   letter   is   penned   by   Mr. 
Miller,  though  ut  my  dictation. 

A.   H.   S. 

NATIONAL  HOTEL,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

Feb.  19, 1882. 

Dear  Mr.  Lanman,  —  Do,  if  you  can  conveniently,  come 
over  and  see  me  soon.  I  wrote  to  Col.  Charles  C.  Jones, 
inquiring  for  the  name  of  the  publishers  of  his  work,  enti 
tled  "  The  Dead  Towns  of  Georgia,"  and  told  him  you 
requested  me  to  do  so.  To-day  I  received  a  very  kind 
letter  from  him  on  the  subject,  and  instead  of  sending  me 
the  name  of  the  publishers,  he  sent  me  a  copy  of  the 
book,  with  a  request  that  I  should  present  it  to  you  in  his 
name.  As  I  cannot  go  to  see  you,  owing  to  my  crippled 
condition,  do,  if  you  please,  call  and  see  me. 
Yours  truly, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON    STEPHENS.  363 

ATLANTA,  GA.,  Dec.  31,  1882. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman, —  Your  very  kind  and  highly 
appreciated  letter  of  Christmas  day  was  duly  received,  and 
you  will  please  accept  my  sincere  thanks  for  it. 

I  shall  look  with  interest  for  that  sketch  to  which  you 
said  you  had  just  given  the  finishing  touches.  It  is  indeed 
a  long  time  since  our  acquaintance  was  formed  ;  and  I  can 
truly  say,  on  my  part,  that  time  has  only  added  strength 
and  depth  to  the  friendship  then  formed. 

Your  letter  gave  me  the  first  intimation  I  had  of  the 
severance  of  your  official  connection  with  the  Japanese 
delegation  in  this  country,  but  I  doubt  not  your  new  voca 
tion  will  be  more  agreeable  as  well  as  profitable  to  you. 
Art  is  your  appropriate  realm  or  sphere,  and  I  feel  as 
sured  that  your  forthcoming  "  Portfolio"  will  add  to  your 
already  world-wide  reputation.  You  ask  if  I  have  any 
friends  to  whom  you  might  send  a  copy.  To  this,  please 
allow  me  to  say,  yon  have  one  friend  whom  you  "may 
make  happy  "  by  sending  a  copy,  and  that  is,  myself. 

I  know  Paul  H.  Hayne  well.  He  is  indeed  a  real 
genius,  and  also  a  true  and  noble  man. 

With  kindest  regards  and  best  wishes, 
Very  truly, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 

ATLANTA,  GA.,  Jan.  26,  1883. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman ,  — Your  letter  of  the  24th  came 
to  hand  by  mail  this  evening,  and  with  it  by  express  came, 
at  the  same  time,  your  "  Portfolio"  containing  the  ten  pic 
tures  you  mention.  I  had  the  "  Portfolio"  put  in  the  par 
lor  of  the  executive,  where  they  have  been  greatly  admired 
by  numerous  callers  this  evening.  I  need  hardly  assure 


364  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

you  that  I  was  greatly  pleased  with  them,  and  partic 
ularly  the  scenes  in  Georgia,  with  which  I  am  so  well  ac 
quainted,  —  Tuccoa,  Yonah  Mountain,  Nacoochee  Valley, 
etc.  The  Bowlder  at  Block  Island  I  was  much  pleased 
with,  though  how  true  to  nature,  I  do  not  know. 

You  have  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  same.  I  shall  look 
with  interest  for  your  forthcoming  book  upon  the  "  Leading 
Men  of  Japan."  With  continued  kindest  regards  and  best 
wishes,  I  remain, 

Yours  truly, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 

ATLANTA,  GA.,  Feb.  3, 1883. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  —  Your  letter  of  the  29th  ult. 
was  duly  received  this  morning.  The  pictures  were  duly 
received  and  greatly  prized  by  me,  as  I  wrote  you  ;  they 
were  also  greatly  admired  by  quite  a  number  of  friends 
who  called  in  the  same  evening  they  came  to  hand.  In 
my  hasty  acknowledgment  of  them,  I  said  nothing  about 
your  drawing  upon  me,  but  was  waiting  to  hear  from  you 
as  to  the  price.  No  bill  accompanied  them,  nor  have  I 
received  any  since.  Just  let  me  know  the  proper  amount, 
and  I  will  myself  promptly  remit,  without  any  draft  on 
your  part.  I  am  truly  glad  to  know  that  your  new  enter 
prise  is  succeeding  so  well.  I  have  been  very  much 
pressed  with  public  official  duties,  for  the  last  several 
weeks,  in  getting  off  commissions  to  the  numerous  county 
officers  in  the  State,  and  deciding  contesting  elections, — 
a  duty  that  devolves  upon  the  governor  of  Georgia. 

I  am  to  take  my  first  holiday  leave  from  the  Mansion 
next  week,  Deo  volente,  to  be  present  and  make  an  ad 
dress  at  the  cesqui-centennial  of  the  first  settlement  of 
Georgia  by  Oglethorpe.  This  is  to  come  off  on  Monday, 


HENRY  R.    SCHOOLORAFT.  3(55 

the   12th  inst.,  at  Savannah.     I  expect  to  leave  three  or 
four  days  before,  and  be  absent  for  about  a  week.     I  hope 
to  hear  from  you  by  the  time  of  my  return. 
Yours  truly, 

ALEXANDER  H.  STEPHENS. 

In  June,  1885,  the  remains  of  Mr.  Stephens  were  re 
moved  from  Atlanta  to  Crawfordsville  and  deposited  in  a 
vault  at  Liberty  Hall,  formerly  the  residence  of  the  emi 
nent  statesman,  and  hereafter  to  be  utilized  as  an  academy 
for  boys,  under  the  auspices  of  a  memorial  association. 
On  the  day  in  question,  the  Hon.  G.  T.  Barnes  delivered 
an  eloquent  eulogy  on  the  departed  ;  and,  in  speaking  of 
his  courage,  said  that  Mr.  Stephens  "  was  afraid  of 
nothing  upon  earth,  save  to  do  wrong";  thereby  placing 
him  far  in  advance  of  the  great  mass  of  American  politi 
cians  and  so-called  statesmen. 


HENRY   R.    SCHOOLCRAFT. 

MY  acquaintance  with  this  noted  friend  of  the  red  man 
was  commenced  under  my  father's  roof,  when  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Michigan,  and  I 
was  a  boy  hunter  on  the  river  Raisin.  I  knew  him  after 
wards  in  New  York,  and  for  many  years  while  a  resident 
of  Washington  City.  Indeed,  it  was  my  privilege  to  re 
side  for  a  time  in  his  home,  when  Professor  Joseph  Henry 
and  his  family  enjoyed  the  same  privilege. 

My  innate  love  of  the  Indians  was  greatly  fostered  by 
my  intercourse,  as  a  boy  and  man,  with  Mr.  Schoolcraft ; 
and  the  many  long  talks  that  I  was  wont  to  have  with  him, 
about  his  life  in  the  wilderness,  can  never  be  forgotten. 
And  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  a  singular  circumstance 


366  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

that  the  boy,  whose  head  he  patted  on  the  river  Raisin, 
should  have  been  the  means  of  introducing  the  author  to 
the  publisher  of  his  great  work  on  the  u  History  of  the 
American  Indians."  Such  was  the  case,  however,  and 
this  is  how  it  all  happened  :  I  was  the  librarian  of  the 
War  Department,  and  one  day  Mr.  Schoolcraft  came  to 
my  desk  and  said  that  the  government  had  appropriated  a 
large  sum  of  money  to  publish  his  forthcoming  work,  and 
he  wanted  me  to  introduce  him  to  a  suitable  publisher. 
Lippincott  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  had  just  issued  a  small 
volume  from  my  pen,  and  I  naturally  fixed  upon  that  firm 
as  the  most  suitable  one  to  bring  out  the  Indian  work,  and 
so  I  gave  Mr.  Schoolcraft  a  friendly  introduction.  He 
went  to  Philadelphia,  was  treated  with  marked  attention 
by  the  aforesaid  publishers,  and  a  satisfactory  arrange 
ment  was  made  between  the  parties,  which  eventuated  in 
the  expenditure  of  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  of 
government  money. 

In  view  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft' s  eminent  success  as  an 
author,  the  subjoined  leading  facts  of  his  life  cannot  but 
be  interesting  to  the  reader  of  this  notice. 

He  was  born  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  March  28,  1793  ;  edu 
cated  at  Middlebury  College  ;  in  1817  he  visited  the  West, 
and  published  a  work  entitled  "  A  View  of  the  Lead 
Mines  of  Missouri  "  ;  in  1820  lie  was  appointed  geologist 
of  the  exploring  expedition,  under  General  Cass,  to  Lake 
Superior  and  the  head  of  the  Mississippi,  and  published 
an  account  of  it  in  1821  ;  made  a  second  tour  to  the  West, 
and  published  "  Travels  in  the  Central  Portions  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley"  ;  in  1822  he  was  appointed  an  Indian 
agent  for  the  Northwest;  from  1K28  to  1832  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Michigan  ;  in  the 
former  year  founded  the  Michigan  Historical  Society  at 


HENRY   R.    SCHOOLCRAFT.  367 

Detroit,  and  ill  1831  the  Algic  Society  ;  in  1832  he  made 
another  expedition  to  the  West,  and  discovered  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi,  of  which  he  published  an  account  in 
1<S34  ;  in  1836  he  made  an  Indian  treaty,  which  secured 
sixteen  million  acres  of  land  to  the  United  States  ;  re 
moved  to  New  York  City  in  1841  ;  visited  Europe  in  1842  ; 
published,  by  authority  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 
1848,  "•  Notes  on  the  Iroquois  "  ;  about  that  time  pub 
lished  a  book  of  Indian  legends,  entitled  "•  Algic  Re 
searches  "  ;  commenced  the  publication  in  1850,  for  the 
government,  of  "  Historical  Information  respecting  the 
History,  Condition,  and  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of 
the  United  States,"  which  resulted  in  six  quarto  volumes, 
illustrated  by  Captain  Seth  Eastman  ;  and  after  many  years 
of  suffering  from  rheumatic  affections,  which  he  bore  with 
rare  Christian  fortitude,  he  died  at  his  residence  in  Wash 
ington  City,  Dec.  10,  1864.  The  total  number  of  his  pub 
lications,  as  his  widow  informed  the  writer,  was  thirty-one  ; 
and  as  the  historian  of  the  American  Indians,  he  will 
always  be  considered  the  leading  authority.  While  he  did 
not  aspire  to  the  title  of  poet,  he  nevertheless  wrote  verses 
occasionally  ;  and  one  of  his  poems,  because  of  its  asso 
ciation  with  Michigan  and  the  fate  of  its  aborigines,  may 
with  propriety  be  appended  to  this  notice.  It  is  entitled 
"  Geehale,  an  Indian  Lament." 

'  *  The  blackbird  is  singing  on  Michigan's  shore, 
As  sweetly  and  gayly  as  ever  before ; 
For  he  knows  to  his  mate  he  at  pleasure  can  hie, 
And  the  dear  little  brood  she  is  teaching  to  fly. 
The  sun  looks  as  ruddy  and  rises  as  bright, 
And  reflects  o'er  the  mountains  as  beamy  a  light 
As  it  ever  reflected,  or  ever  expressed, 
When  my  skies  were  the  bluest,  my  dreams  were  the  best. 
The  fox  and  the  panther,  both  beasts  of  the  night, 
Retire  to  their  dens  on  the  gleaming  of  light ; 


3G8  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

And  they  spring  with  a  free  and  sorrovvless  track, 
For  they  know  that  their  mates  are  expecting  them  back. 
Each  bird  and  each  beast  it  is  blessed  in  degree ; 
All  nature  is  cheerful,  all  happy  but  me. 

"I  will  go  to  my  tent  and  lie  down  in  despair; 
I  will  paint  me  with  black,  and  will  sever  my  hair; 
I  will  sit  on  the  shore,  where  the  hurricane  blows, 
And  reveal  to  the  God  of  the  tempest  my  woes. 
I  will  weep  for  a  season  on  bitterness  fed, 
For  my  kindred  are  gone  to  the  hills  of  the  dead ; 
But  they  died  not  by  hunger,  or  lingering  decay, 
The  steel  of  the  white  man  hath  swept  them  away. 

"  This  snake-skin,  that  once  I  so  sacredly  wore, 
I  Avill  toss  with  disdain  on  the  storm-beaten  shore ; 
'  Its  charms  I  no  longer  obey  or  invoke, 
Its  spirit  has  left  me,  its  spell  is  now  broke. 
I  will  raise  up  my  voice  to  the  source  of  the  light, 
I  will  dream  on  the  wings  of  the  bluebird  at  night; 
I  will  speak  to  the  spirits  that  whisper  in  leaves, 
And  that  minister  balm  to  the  spirit  that  grieves ; 
And  will  take  a  new  Manitou  —  such  as  shall  seem 
To  be  kind  and  propitious  in  every  dream. 

"  Oh,  then  I  shall  banish  these  cankering  sighs, 
And  tears  shall  no  longer  gush  salt  from  my  eyes ! 
I  shall  wash  from  my  face  every  cloud-colored  stain ; 
Red,  red  shall  alone  on  my  visage  remain ! 
I  will  dig  up  my  hatchet  and  bend  my  ash  bow, 
By  night  and  by  day  I  will  follow  the  foe ; 
Nor  lakes  shall  impede  me,  nor  mountains,  nor  snows, 
His  blood  can  alone  give  my  spirit  repose. 

' '  They  came  to  my  cabin  when  heaven  was  black, 
I  heard  not  their  coming,  I  knew  not  their  track; 
But  I  saw  by  the  light  of  their  blazing  fusees 
They  were  people  engendered  beyond  the  big  seas. 
My  wife  and  my  children  —  Oh,  spare  me  the  tale  I 
For  who  is  there  left  that  is  kin  to  Geehale?" 


HENRY   R.    SCIIOOLCRAFT.  309 

My  correspondence  with  Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  limited, 
but  the  few  notes  from  his  pen  that  I  have  retained  are 
as  follows :  — 

SATURDAY  MORNING,  2  Dec. 

My  dear  Sir, — I  called  at  your  lodgings,  night  before 
last,  to  thank  you  for  your  very  handsome  notice  of  me 
and  what  I  am  about  in  the  Indian  office,  which  you  have 
inserted  in  the  Intelligencer,  and  since  had  copied  in  the 
Tribune.  I  am  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  the  kindness. 
It  is  the  first  notice  of  the  kind  I  have  had  from  any  quar 
ter  since  I  have  been  in  the  city,  and  cannot,  so  far  as  it 
is  read,  but  tend  to  make  my  position  in  society  here 
better,  or  more  eligibly,  known. 
Very  truly  yours, 

HENRY  K.  SCIIOOLCRAFT. 

Having  asked  his  advice  about  the  title  for  a  book,  he 
writes  :  — 

My  dear  Sir, — The  Indians  call  America  an  island, 
and  say  that  it  grew  from  a  turtle's  back.  The  Iroquois 
call  it  Haw-ho-noo.  Could  you  not  avail  yourself  of  this 
idea  ?  —  Glimpses  of  Hawhonoo.  The  West  is  called 
Kabiyun,  —  say,  Rambles  in  the  Land  of  Kabiyun. 

Truly, 

H.  R.  SCIIOOLCRAFT. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Oct.  27, 1857. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  I  have  received  your  letter,  and  have 
requested  Mr.  L.  to  transmit  you  a  copy  of  the  memoir ; 
and  I  should  feel  highly  gratified  by  a  notice.  I  regret 
that  I  had  not  put  an  index  to  direct  you  to  particular 
subjects,  as  you  cannot  get  time  to  read  so  long  a  story 
through,  and  it  will  be  difficult  to  form  a  just  opinion  of 
24 


370  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

its  connection  with  the  aborigines,  antiquities,  natural  his 
tory,  and  the  settlements  of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley, 
etc.,  without  pretty  throronghly  perusing  it. 

The  LIFE  is  from  facts  supplied  by  me,  but  due  to  an 
other  HAND. 

I  am  busy  as  a  bee  with  my  second  volume  of  "  Indian 
History,"  which  will  be  most  splendidly  illustrated  by 
Eastman.  Truly, 

HENRY  II.  SCHOOLCRAFT. 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  having 
been  a  beautiful  and  worthy  Chippewa  woman  of  Lake 
Superior,  and  his  second  an  accomplished  lady  of  South 
Carolina,  who  greatly  assisted  him  in  his  literary  pursuits 
in  Washington,  and  survived  him  only  a  few  years. 


GEORGE   B.   McCLELLAN. 

MY  feelings  of  admiration  for  General  McClellan,  as  a 
man  and  a  soldier,  were  enthusiastic  ;  and  a  summer  after 
noon  that  I  once  spent  in  his  company  can  never  be  for 
gotten.  It  was  in  August,  1863,  after  he  had  retired  from 
the  army,  and  was  recruiting  his  health  in  Connecticut  and 
enjoying  the  companionship  of  his  old  and  attached  friend, 
William  C.  Prime.  It  was  my  privilege  to  take  a  drive 
with  him  along  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  when  we  visited 
the  fortifications  on  the  heights  of  Groton  and  the  monu 
ment.  On  hearing  of  his  untimely  death  at  Orange,  N.  J., 
I  ferreted  out  from  my  papers  some  notes  that  I  took  at 
the  time,  and  the  substance  of  which  may  not  be  uninter 
esting  to  those  who  considered  him  one  of  the  most 
eminent  men  of  his  time. 


GEORGE    B.    McCLELLAN.  371 

While  taking  a  view  of  Fort  Truinlmll,  as  we  passed 
upward  from  the  Pequot  Hotel,  he  expressed  surprise  that 
the  former  should  have  been  built  where  it  is.  He  thought 
it  would  have  been  better  to  place  it  where  the  Pequot 
House  stands,  and  that  Fort  Griswold  should  have  been 
built  on  a  hill  nearly  opposite.  For  this  he  gave  two 
reasons,  —  first,  that  an  enemy  would  thus  be  kept  farther 
off  from  New  London  ;  and,  secondly,  that  any  gun  fired 
from  a  ship  at  Fort  Trumbull  would  be  sure  to  hit  the 
exposed  city. 

Having  recently  visited  Montauk  Point  and  Block  Island, 
he  spoke  enthusiastically  of  both  of  them.  He  thought 
the  former  one  of  the  most  interesting  places  he  had  ever 
visited  ;  its  lonely  grandeur  had  impressed  him  deeply. 
He  went  to  the  latter  place  with  a  friend,  in  his  admi 
rable  yacht,  from  Stonington, — going  in  one  hour- and 
fifty  minutes,  and  returning  in  one  hour  and  forty  min 
utes.  The  sea  \yas  rough,  but  he  managed  to  take  forty 
bluefish  with  the  hand-line,  mutilating  his  hands  very 
severely.  During  his  stay  at  the  island  it  was  whispered 
to  a  native  that  General  McClellan  had  arrived.  "  Where 
is  the  man?"  was  the  inquiry.  ''I  should  like  to  see  him, 
because  I  have  a  son  in  the  war,  and  perhaps  he  knows 
him.  Some  time  ago,  my  son  sent  me  a  photograph  of  a 
soldier  that  he  thought  everything  of,  and  the  general  may 
tell  me  his  name."  The  picture  was  subsequently  pro 
duced,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  picture  of  the  general  himself. 

The  old  and  abandoned  military  works  on  the  heights  of 
Groton  were  minutely  examined,  with  all  the  enthusiasm 
of  an  engineer  hired  to  do  a  specific  work.  He  spoke  of 
the  old  fort  and  of  the  water  battery  as  very  creditable  to 
those  who  designed  them  ;  pointed  out  what  he  thought 
one  mistake,  touching  the  approach  from  the  northeast, 


372  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

and  made  several  sketches  of  the  plan  of  the  fort.  As 
we  stood  within  the  battery,  looking  up  at  the  fort,  I  was 
reminded  of  a  famous  French  picture,  representing  the 
assault  on  the  Redan  at  Sebastopol ;  he  said  that  the 
Redan  was  not  as  high  as  the  fort  before  us,  but  that 
the  Malakoff  was,  perhaps,  a  little  higher.  As  in  his 
"Crimean  Report"  he  gave  much  the  greater  credit  to 
the  French  army,  he  incidentally  mentioned  this  anecdote. 
At  some  place  on  the  Black  Sea,  an  Englishman  was  talk 
ing  with  a  French  officer  about  the  siege  of  Sebastopol, 
and  took  pains  to  claim  most  of  the  credit  for  his  coun 
trymen  ;  to  which  the  Frenchman  replied,  in  his  own 
tongue,  with  a  little  profanity,  "  I  don't  recollect  that  I 
saw  a  single  Englishman  in  the  Crimea." 

Having  questioned  him  in  regard  to  the  scenes  in  his  own 
eventful  military  life  which  he  thought  best  adapted  for  the 
pencil,  he  designated  the  following  as  those  which  made 
the  deepest  impression  on  his  mind.  The  first  was  his 
arrival  at  the  field  of  Antietam  just  before  the  battle, 
when,  as  is  well  known,  he  was  welcomed  by  the  troops  in 
a  manner  that  has  seldom  been  equalled  in  history.  The 
particular  moment  to  be  selected  was  when  the  first  fire  of 
the  enemy  was  heard,  and,  without  speaking  a  word,  he 
involuntarily  rose  slightly  in  his  stirrups,  and  pointed 
toward  the  enemy  ;  which  movement  was  answered  by  a 
shout  that  was  loud  as  the  roaring  of  the  sea  on  a  rocky 
shore.  Another  scene  was  that  when  he  bade  the  army 
farewell  at  Warrenton,  and  when,  as  many  officers  present 
have  testified,  he  might,  by  saying  one  word,  have  taken 
his  army  to  Washington  as  dictator.  Another  sub 
ject  suited  for  a  picture  was  a  view  of  the  Pamumky 
River,  where  his  headquarters  were,  upon  a  commanding 
hill ;  while  on  the  right  was  spread  out  a  highly  cultivated 


GEOltCK   B.    McCLELLAN.  378 

country,  perfectly  beautiful  and  peaceful,  and  without  a 
single  object  to  remind  one  of  war  ;  and  on  the  left  hand 
was  massed  his  whole  army  of,  I  think,  eighty  thousand 
men.  He  spoke  of  the  whole  scene  as  one  of  great  nov 
elty,  and  as  eloquently  illustrating  the  past  and  present 
condition  of  our  country,  —  peace  and  war.  But  of  all  the 
sad  scenes  that  he  described  with  photographic  accuracy, 
his  arrival  at  Harrison's  Landing  was  the  most  touching. 
Night  was  coming  on,  and  hungry,  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
and  without  any  order,  his  heroic  troops  were  literally  lying 
in  the  mud,  like  cattle  mired  in  a  swamp.  Then  it  was  that 
one  of  his  officers  came  up  to  him  to  consult  him  on  some 
subject,  but  fell  asleep  before  he  could  finish  his  speech, 
and  could  not  be  shaken  out  of  his  stupor.  Before  twelve 
o'clock  that  night,  the  general  had  visited  every  one  of  his 
regiments,  had  looked  in  the  face  of  every  man,  and  in 
all  the  multitude  did  not  observe  a  single  sullen  counte 
nance.  Such  heroism  as  his  troops  then  manifested,  and 
had  always  manifested,  he  frequently  mentioned  as  wholly 
unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  modern  warfare.  Speaking 
of  the  enthusiasm  which  his  troops  had  always  felt  for 
him,  he  said  it  was  unaccountable,  unless  it  arose  from  the 
fact  that  they  knew  he  was  their  friend. 

On  entering  the  Groton  monument,  he  looked  over  the 
names  of  those  who  were  killed,  while  bravely  fighting  for 
their  country,  and  among  them  were  no  less  than  five  per 
sons  who  were  his  own  kinsmen. 

The  Rebellion  was  discussed  at  some  length,  and  he  was 
as  decided  in  his  hatred  of  it  as  any  man  could  be.  He 
thought  the  people,  both  North  and  South,  were  all  still 
lovers  of  the  Union,  and  was  hopeful  as  to  the  final  result. 
Two  things,  however,  must  of  necessity  be  accomplished, 
before  we  could  enjoy  a  lasting  peace, —  the  destruction 


374  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

of  the  abolition  party  by  the  conservatives  of  the  North, 
and  the  political  extinction  of  all  the  leading  secessionists 
and  partisans  of  the  South,  by  the  conservative  population 
of  that  section.  When  the  people  of  the  South  were  will 
ing  to  lay  down  their  arms  and  come  back  under  the  old 
flag,  he  would  be  glad  to  give  them  a  warm  and  cordial 
welcome  and  all  their  rights  under  the  Constitution.  Of 
course  the  blow  that  had  already  been  given  to  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery,  no  earthly  power  could  undo.  The  mis 
management  of  the  war  by  the  administration  received 
his  most  earnest  condemnation  ;  and  he  thought  that  none 
of  its  members  seemed  to  have  had  a  realizing  sense  of 
the  impending  troubles  or  of  their  enormous  responsibili 
ties.  Political  selfishness  had  been  the  primary  cause  of 
the  war,  and  demagogue  passions  had  thus  far  controlled 
all  our  military  as  well  as  civil  measures  for  bringing  it  to 
an  end. 

But  what  chiefly  interested  me  in  the  conversation  of 
General  McClellan  were  his  unreserved  opinions  of  the 
great  and  notorious  men  of  the  country,  dead  and  living. 
Webster  he  spoke  of  as  the  greatest  American  intellect  of 
the  age,  and  of  Clay  as  a  statesman  of  the  highest  order ; 
and,  in  view  of  the  Presidency,  what  a  shame  it  was  that 
such  men  should  have  been  set  aside  to  give  place  for 
men  deplorably  inferior  to  them  in  all  those  characteristics 
which  make  men  truly  great.  He  spoke  of  Scott  in  the 
most  affectionate  terms  as  a  man,  and  as  a  patriot  and 
general  most  enthusiastically. 

Speaking  of  Farragut's  exploits  on  the  Mississippi  he 
said,  "  He  must  be  a  grand  old  fellow  ;  I  should  like  much 
to  see  him." 

The  sudden  and  excessive  zeal  of  General  Lorenzo 
Thomas  in  organizing  negro  troops  seemed  to  him  most 


GEORGE    B.    McCLKLLAN.  375 

amazing ;  but  there  was  undoubtedly  a  suggestive  reason 
for  it.  Time  would  prove  that  his  position  in  the  army 
hung  by  a  slender  thread,  and,  when  ordered  to  perform 
the  unique  work  assigned  to  him,  it  was  not  believed  he 
would  consent ;  but  love  of  office  prevailed. 

In  all  that  he  uttered  about  the  men  who,  as  many 
allege,  acquitted  themselves  unhandsomely  during  the  war, 
he  was  perfectly  kind  ;  but  the  facts  he  submitted  seemed 
to  me  very  telling  in  their  character.  He  generally  alluded 
to  the  erring  men  as  misguided,  not  attributing  unworthy 
motives  to  them.  If  there  was  an  exception,  it  was  in 
the  case  of  a  noted  general,  who  did  not  send  on  the 
promised  supplies  when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
ragged  and  barefooted.  The  squabbles  in  the  Cabinet  he 
ridiculed  more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger.  The  personal 
hostility  of  Secretary  Chase  he  depicted  in  the  most  graphic 
manner,  but  attributed  it  to  fanaticism,  arrogance,  and 
overweening  ambition.  His  pictures  of  President  Lincoln 
in  society  were  very  interesting,  and  he  praised  him  highly 
as  a  true  man  and  statesman.  Secretary  Bates  he  thought 
the  most  upright  and  sensible  man  in  the  Cabinet.  Sew- 
ard  was  great  in  the  cunning  line  ;  Stan  ton,  just  what  the 
world  thought  him  ;  and  Blair,  Welles,  and  Smith  alto 
gether  unfit  for  their  positions,  though  highly  respectable 
as  gentlemen. 

During  our  conversation  on  military  affairs,  the  general 
asked  me  how  it  was  that  I  was  not  numbered  among  the 
defenders  of  my  country  ;  and  I  brought  a  smile  to  his  face 
by  this  reply  :  that  I  had  served  as  a  prisoner  of  war  for 
three  hours,  when  Secretary  Stanton  had  me  arrested  be 
cause  I  happened  to  be  an  occasional  Washington  corre 
spondent  for  the  good  old  Journal  of  Commerce  of  New 
York,  and  caused  my  release  when  he  found  out  that  I  had 


376  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

not  printed  any  unpatriotic  opinions.  Another  remark 
that  I  made  to  the  general  was  as  follows  :  That  when  the 
business  of  recruiting  was  at  its  height,  I  had  a  dream  in 
which  I  had  shouldered  a  musket  and  joined  his  forces  in 
Virginia ;  and  that,  on  entering  a  battle,  I  threw  down  my 
gun  and  ran  toward  the  rear  like  a  deer  ;  whereupon  I  be 
came  convinced  that  I  could  never  do  anything  in  that  line 
to  save  my  country.  His  comment  on  my  confession  was 
that  warriors  were  not  made  out  of  such  material  as  I  rep 
resented  myself  to  be. 

The  correspondence  with  which  General  McClellan  hon 
ored  me  during  our  long  acquaintance  was  in  keeping  with 
his  high  character  as  a  friend  and  gentleman  ;  and  the 
three  letters  which  I  now  submit  to  my  readers  will  not 
only  explain  themselves,  but  also  give  an  insight  into  the 
working  of  his  mind  on  certain  important  topics  of  the 

day. 

TRENTOX,  Xov.  17,  1802. 

My  dear  Sir, — Your  very  kind  note  of  the  llth  is  re 
ceived,  and  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  it. 

I  believe  you  are  right  in  saying  that  my  enemies  are 
the  ultra  fanatics  on  both  sides,  —  alike  traitors  ;  at  least 
I  draw  that  inference  from  the  multitude  of  letters  which 
reach  me  from  many  sources.  The  possession  of  the  es 
teem  of  the  good  and  honest  among  my  countrymen  would 
compensate  me  for  any  real  evil  of  magnitude,  much  more 
so  under  circumstances  like  the  present,  when  I  am  really 
more  pleasantly  situated  than  I  have  been  since  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war. 

Again  thanking  you  for  the  kind  feeling  yon  have  so 
often  evinced  for  me,  I  am, 

Most  sincerely  your  friend, 

GEO.  B.  McCLELLAN,  Major-General. 


GEORGE    li.    MCCLELLAN.  377 

ORANGE,  X.  J.,  Dec.  7, 1800. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman,  —  Your  very  kind  letter  of  the 
1st  duly  reached  me.  I  am  much  indebted  to  you  for  the 
extract  from  Mr.  Emerson  Etheridge's  letter,  and  assure 
you  that  there  are  very  few  people  in  this  nation  whose 
good  opinion  I  value  so  much  as  his,  —  a  man  who  has 
gone  through  the  most  severe  ordeal  in  the  fiery  trials 
through  which  we  have  all  passed. 

I  value  the  good  opinion  of  such  men  far  more  than  T 
could  the  Presidency  without  it.  I  feel  very  unconcerned 
about  that  high  but  very  undesirable  office.  I  have  not, 
nor  shall  I,  ever  move  one  finger  to  obtain  it.  If  it  comes 
to  me,  it  must  be  as  the  spontaneous,  unsolicited  act  of 
the  people,  and  not  as  the  result  of  any  effort  or  bargain 
on  my  part. 

A  man  who  so  little  appreciates  the  vast  responsibilities 
of  the  next  Presidency  as  to  strive  for  or  desire  it  must,  in 
my  judgment,  be  devoid  of  sense.  If  it  comes  to  me,  I 
shall  regard  it  as  the  work  of  Providence,  and  trust  that 
God  will  answer  my  prayers  and  enable  me  to  act  for  the 
good  of  my  poor  country.  If  it  falls  to  another,  I  shall 
be  too  glad  to  escape  the  inevitable  trials  of  such  a  posi 
tion.  But  I  think  that  no  one  can  yet  foresee  who  is  to 
be  the  next  President.  Events  march  now  with  such  great 
speed  that  new  issues,  unheard-of  men,  may,  at  the  end  of 
another  year,  be  the  arbiters  of  our  destiny.  I  am  con 
tent  now,  since  I  cannot  be  in  the  field,  to  sit  upon  the 
bank  and  wait  the  wind. 

So  the  poor  Army  of  the  Potomac  has  again  been  made 
a  shuttlecock  of  !  Will  they  never  learn  that  Richmond  is 
not  to  be  taken  by  the  Culpepper  or  the  Aquia  route  ? 

Will  you  thank  Mr.  Etheridge  for  me  for  his  kind  opin- 


378  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

ion?     And  believe  me,  with  the  most  pleasant  recollec 
tions  of  the  New  London  visit,  ever 

Your  sincere  friend, 

GEO.  B.  MCCLELLAN. 

ORANGE,  Nov.  16,  1864. 

My  dear  Mr.  Lanman, — Your  kind  note  of  the  10th 
duly  reached  me. 

If  I  entertained  any  sentiment  of  personal  chagrin  at 
the  result  of  the  late  election,  it  would  have  been  at  once 
dispelled  by  the  many  evidences  of  regard  and  friendship 
I  have  since  received  from  those  whom  I  most  respect. 
Fortunately,  perhaps,  I  regarded  the  contest,  from  the  be 
ginning,  as  one  involving  the  great  interests  of  the  nation, 
and  as  of  too  great  magnitude  to  leave  any  room  for  per 
sonal  feelings  or  ambition  ;  so  that  when  the  end  came 
there  was  no  personal  mortification  to  be  soothed  ;  but  I 
am  none  the  less  grateful  to  my  friends  for  the  warm 
interest  they  display  for  me,  and  shall  never  cease  to  en 
tertain  the  most  sincere  gratitude  towards  them. 

I  do  not  yet  despair  of  the  Republic,  but  believe  that, 
after  many  trials  and  sufferings,  we  shall  at  last  recover 
our  old  institutions  and  our  former  glory,  and  come  out  of 
the  fiery  furnace  purified  and  strengthened. 

At  all  events  our  course  is  clear,  and  that  is  to  stand 
firmly  by  the  great  principles  we  have  advocated,  and 
never  forget  that  we  have  still  a  country  to  save,  whenever 
God  permits  us  to  act  in  its  behalf.  I  beg  that  you  will 
express  to  Mr.  Seaton  and  Mr.  A\relling  my  high  apprecia 
tion  of  the  noble  course  they  have  pursued,  and  believe  me, 

Ever  your  friend, 

GEO.  .15.  MCCLELLAN. 


JOHN    TRUMIIULL.  379 

Tlic  fact  is  very  suggestive  that  General  McClelhui 
should  have  died  only  a  few  weeks  after  General  Grant, 
his  prominent  rival  for  military  glory  and  in  the  political 
world.  In  life  they  were  personally  divided,  and  were 
both  associated  with  the  strife  of  human  passions  ;  but 
they  are  now  in  a  happier  hind,  where  peace  and  love 
reign  supreme.  Whatever  may  be  the  verdict  of  the 
present  generation  in  regard  to  the  merits  of  these  two 
men,  it  is  certain  that  posterity  will  cherish  the  name  of 
McClellan  as  one  who  had  no  superior  as  a  model  Ameri 
can,  on  the  score  of  genius,  pure  and  elevated  character, 
and  unselfish  patriotism.  The  character  of  the  man  was 
exemplified  by  the  fact  that,  when  he  thought  that  his 
death  was  approaching,  he  made  a  special  request  that 
there  should  be  no  more  display  at  his  funeral  "  than  that 
of  a  simple  citizen."  He  had  witnessed  too  much  of  the 
mockery  of  woe  to  desire  a  military  requiem  over  his 
grave,  confident  that  he  had,  what  he  wanted,  a  place  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  whom  he  had  tried  to  serve 
to  the  extent  of  his  ability. 


JOHN  TRUMBULL. 

(Written  by  request,  for  the  work  entitled  ie  Art  and  Artists 
in  Connecticut,"  by  11.  W.  French.) 

WHEN  a  man  of  mark  has  been  dead  for  the  third  of  a 
century,  and  left  to  the  world  a  full  and  interesting  auto 
biography,  it  must,  of  necessity  be  a  difficult  task  to  write 
anything  new  of  him  ;  but,  in  the  case  of  John  Trumbull, 
the  time  has  not  yet  passed  when  a  general  but  brief 
survey  of  his  personal  characteristics  as  an  artist  and  a 
man  may  not  be  both  interesting  and  profitable. 


380  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

He  was  the  son  of  Jonathan  Trumbull,  the  colonial 
governor  of  Connecticut,  endearingly  called  by  Washing 
ton  "  Brother  Jonathan."  He  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Con 
necticut,  June  6,  1756  ;  and  though,  from  a  malformation 
of  his  head,  it  was  thought  he  could  not  live,  he  manifested  a 
love  for  books  at  an  early  age.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1773,  and  having  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
the  artist  John  Singleton  Copley  in  Boston,  he  forthwith 
turned  his  attention  to  painting.  He  however  deemed  it 
his  duty  to  join  the  army  in  1775,  as  an  adjutant,  and 
having  rendered  some  special  service  by  drawing  plans 
of  the  English  fortifications,  was  made  aide-de-camp  to 
Washington  ;  served  with  Gates  in  the  Northern  Army  as 
adjutant-general,  but  resigned  his  commission  in  1777. 
Having  resumed  the  pencil,  he  went  to  Paris  in  1780; 
thence  to  London,  where  he  studied  art  with  Benjamin 
West,  by  whom  he  was  highly  appreciated.  While  there 
he  was  suspected  as  being  a  spy,  and  having  been  ar 
rested  was  imprisoned  for  nearly  eight  months,  amusing 
himself  in  prison  by  painting.  When  arrested,  and  ques 
tioned  as  to  his  antecedents,  he  made  this  reply  :  "I  am 
an  American,  and  my  name  is  Trumbull.  I  am  a  son  of 
him  you  call  the  rebel  governor  of  Connecticut.  I  have 
served  in  the  rebel  army.  I  have  had  the  honor  of  being 
an  aide-de-camp  to  him  you  call  the  rebel  George  Wash 
ington.  I  am  entirely  in  your  power ;  treat  me  as  you 
please  ;  always  remembering  that  as  I  may  be  treated,  so 
will  your  friends  in  America  be  treated  by  mine."  On 
being  released  through  the  influence  of  West  and  such 
men  as  Charles  James  Fox  and  Edmund  Burke,  he  re 
turned  to  America  in  1782.  He  again  visited  England, 
and  returned  in  1789.  In  1794  he  went  to  England  as 
secretary  to  John  Jay,  and  passed  about  ten  years  in  the 


JOHN   TRTTMIJULL. 


diplomatic  service.  In  181  1  he  once  again  visited  Eng 
land  and  remained  four  years  ;  he  then  returned  to  New 
York  City,  where,  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  sojourn  in 
New  Haven,  he  remained  until  his  death,  Nov.  10,  1843. 
In  addition  to  the  positions  already  mentioned,  he  held 
that  of  president  of  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts, 
and  as  such  did  much  to  foster  the  love  of  art  in  the 
United  States.  As  he  advanced  in  years,  he  collected  his 
unsold  paintings  into  a  gallery,  which  he  disposed  of  to 
Yale  College,  on  the  condition  that  he  should  receive  an 
annuity  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  during  the  balance  of 
his  life,  which  arrangement  enabled  him,  with  other  in 
come,  to  reach  the  end  in  comfort  and  peace. 

During  this  long  period,  Colonel  Trumbull  was  con 
stantly  studying,  if  not  practising  his  favorite  art.  Aside 
from  the  many  portraits,  and  small  miscellaneous  pictures 
that  he  painted  for  his  friends,  —  of  which  sixty-eight  were 
painted  before  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age,  —  there 
are  many  always  accessible  to  the  public  in  Washington, 
Hartford,  New  Haven,  New  Y'ork,  and  Boston,  or  Cam 
bridge,  ranging  in  size  from  miniatures  in  oil  to  large  pro 
ductions.  Of  the  portraits,  the  largest  proportion  are  not 
only  excellent  as  works  of  art,  but  invaluable  as  contri 
butions  to  history.  The  larger  historical  paintings  in  the 
national  Capitol,  in  spite  of  some  deficiencies,  must  always 
be  highly  esteemed,  because  of  their  subjects  ;  while  the 
eight  smaller  productions  connected  with  the  Revolution, 
and  forming  a  part  of  the  New  Haven  collection,  cannot 
but  command  the  applause  of  competent  critics.  In  tech 
nical  skill  Colonel  Trumbull  was  of  course  greatly  behind 
such  men  as  Meissonier  and  others  of  that  stamp,  who  are 
merely  successful  rivals  of  the  photograph  ;  hut  so  far  as 
the  higher  objects  of  art  are  concerned,  the  American  will 


382  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

always  stand  on  a  much  higher  plane  than  the  famous 
Frenchman.  That  Trumbull  was  a  great  master  cannot, 
however,  be  reasonably  claimed ;  but  in  view  of  the 
pioneer  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  of  the  work  accom 
plished  by  him,  he  must  of  necessity  always  command  the 
highest  respect  of  his  countrymen,  notwithstanding  the 
clap-trap  doings  and  pernicious  influence  of  certain  New 
York  picture  dealers.  That  he  was  a  conscientious  worker 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  he  travelled  from  one  end  of 
the  country  to  the  other  to  collect  likenesses  of  the  men  he 
proposed  to  depict  on  canvas.  That  he  should  have 
conceived  the  idea  of  perpetuating  the  great  events  of  the 
Revolution  with  his  pencil,  gives  evidence  of  a  superior 
mind  ;  that  he  should  have  undertaken  such  a  task  proves 
his  courage  ;  and  that  he  should  have  accomplished  it  so 
successfully,  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  ex 
hibits  him  as  possessed  of  rare  pluck  and  perseverance. 

A  leading  characteristic  of  this  soldier-artist  was  his 
apparent  sense  of  superiority  over  other  men.  It  is  true 
that  he  belonged  to  a  family  whose  escutcheon  had  never 
been  sullied  by  an  unworthy  act,  and  that  he  numbered 
among  his  personal  friends  such  men  as  Washington,  Jef 
ferson,  John  Adams,  and  Monroe,  if  not  Madison  ;  but  he 
was  in  reality  a  lover  of  his  fellow-men,  and  his  seeming 
haughtiness  was  merely  a  physical  peculiarity.  Nor  was 
it  true  that  his  dignity  always  militated  against  his  in 
fluence.  When,  in  1777,  the  Continental  Congress  treated 
him  with  seeming  neglect  in  not  promptly  sending  him  a 
commission  for  promotion,  according  to  the  advice  of 
General  Gates,  he  returned  the  commission  with  a  letter 
of  explanation,  in  which  he  made  this  manly  remark  :  "•  If 
I  have  committed  any  crime,  or  neglected  any  duty,  since 
I  engaged  in  the  service  of  my  country  ;  if  I  have  per- 


JOIItf   TRUMBULL.  383 

formed  any  action,  or  spoken  any  word  in  my  public 
character,  unworthy  of  my  rank,  let  me  be  tried  by  com 
rades  and  broke  ;  but  I  must  not  be  thought  so  destitute 
of  feeling  as  to  bear  degradation  tamely."  If  that  lan 
guage  proved  him  to  be  an  aristocrat,  the  more  of  such 
people  we  have  in  public  life  the  better  will  it  be  for  the 
country. 

The  special  member  of  Congress  who  acted  for  him  in 
this  matter  hastened  to  inform  him  that  a  mistake  had 
been  committed,  and  that  his  character  was  unblemished 
in  the  opinion  of  those  who  should  have  promptly  for 
warded  the  commission.  lie  also  intimated  that  Colonel 
Trumbull  had  better  write  another  letter,  and  ask  for  his 
commission.  In  reply  to  this  suggestion,  ho  said:  "I 
have  never  asked  any  oftice  in  the  public  service  ;  nor  will 
I  ever  do  so.  The  very  request  would  acknowledge  and 
prove  my  unworthiness." 

Colonel  Trumbull  had  a  reputation  for  rudeness  among 
the  artists  ;  but  it  need  not  by  any  means  follow  that  he 
was  rude  ;  for  artists  are  proverbially  sensitive,  and  may 
have  misjudged  him.  For  example,  he  entered  a  young 
painter's  studio  one  morning  and  inquired,  "  Young  man, 
how  fast  do  you  paint?"  The  answer  was  given.  "  And 
how  much  do  you  get  for  your  portraits  ?  "  ';  Only  fifteen 
dollars,  sir."  "And  quite  enough,"  observed  the  visitor, 
and  then  added:  "Young  man,  remember  this,  nine 
painters  out  of  ten,  great  and  small,  err  in  drawing"  ;  and 
went  his  way.  It  was  an  excellent  piece  of  advice  ;  but 
it  made  that  artist  an  enemy  to  the  critic  for  the  balance 
of  his  days.  He  told  another  young  artist  lie  had  better 
become  a  shoemaker,  and  that  youth  afterwards  admitted 
that  the  colonel's  philosophy  was  true.  It  was  long  a  pro 
verbial  expression,  originally  uttered  by  Trumbull,  that 


384  HAPHAZARD    PERSONALITIES. 

the  frame-maker  usually  made  more  money  than  the 
painter,  thereby  indicating  that  many  people  had  no  busi 
ness  with  the  pencil. 

For  thorough,  old-school  politeness  and  courtliness  Col 
onel  Trumbull  had  few  equals.  Lafayette,  one  of  his 
most  intimate  friends,  said  that  his  works  should  be  th:; 
first,  if  not  the  only,  ornaments  of  his  dwelling.  John 
Jay,  Alexander  Hamilton,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  and 
other  men  of  that  stamp  took  pleasure  in  his  companion 
ship  ;  and  with  David  Hosack,  DeWitt  Clinton,  Robert  II. 
Livingston,  and  other  noted  New-Yorkers,  he  was  inti 
mately  associated  in  promoting  a  taste  for  the  fine  arts, 
and  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  old  American  Acad 
emy.  And,  so  far  as  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held 
by  the  public  generally,  both  as  a  man  and  an  artist  is 
concerned,  there  is  nothing  that  can  speak  more  eloquently 
than  the  three  hundred  and  forty-four  names  which  were 
subscribed  for  a  series  of  engravings  from  his  paintings 
as  far  back  as  the  year  1790.  It  is  a  royal  list  of  names 
which  would  never  have  been  recorded  in  favor  of  a  common 
man.  Horace  "Walpole  spoke  of  his  painting  of  Gibraltar 
as  the  finest  he  had  seen  north  of  the  Alps  ;  and  when  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  uttered  some  of  his  petty  criticisms,  he 
did  not  dream  that  some  of  his  own  pictures  would  one  day 
be  ridiculed  for  their  feebleness  and  fading  qualities. 

In  the  autumn  of  1815,  Colonel  Trumbull  returned  to 
America  with  his  English  wife,  a  lady  of  rare  beauty  and 
elegant  manners  ;  but  the  story  of  her  origin  has  always 
been  involved  in  mystery.  She  died  in  1824  ;  and  for 
nearly  nineteen  years  her  devoted  husband  kept  her  por 
trait,  which  he  had  painted,  closely  veiled  at  the  head  of 
his  bed.  This  portrait  was  bequeathed  by  Colonel  Tnnn- 
bull  to  his  niece,  Miss  Abby  T.  Lanman,  of  Norwich, 


JOHN   TRUMBULL.  38;") 

Conn.  In  alluding  to  the  death  of  his  wife,  he  once  wrote 
as  follows  :  "She  was  the  perfect  personification  of  truth 
and  sincerity,  wise  to  counsel,  kind  to  console,  by  far  the 
better  moral  half  of  me,  and  withal  beautiful  beyond  the 
beauty  of  women." 

The  winter  of  1819,  Colonel  Trumbull  spent  in  Hartford, 
at  the  house  of  Daniel  Wads  worth,  using  the  small  tower 
upon  the  house  as  a  studio,  where  he  prepared  some  of  his 
historical  studies.  He  was  an  elegant  conversationist, 
and,  especially  in  his  family,  generous  and  gentle.  As  a 
colorist  he  was  not  equal  to  Stuart,  nor  could  he  rival 
Copley  in  drawing,  both  of  whom  were  his  friends  ;  but  in 
the  higher  attributes  of  art,  many  would  say  that  he  ex 
celled  them  both.  Connecticut  may  well  be  proud  that  he 
was  born  on  her  soil,  that  most  of  his  best  productions  are 
in  her  possession,  and  that  his  ashes  and  fame  are  in  her 
keeping. 

My  personal  recollections  of  Colonel  Trumbull  were 
limited  to  my  acquaintance  with  him  during  the  last  two 
years  of  his  life.  I  was  at  that  time  a  "  Pearl  Street 
clerk,"  and  used  to  visit  him  occasionally  to  hear  him  dis 
course  on  the  fine  arts,  and  recount  his  adventures  in 
foreign  lands,  as  well  as  to  gather  anecdotes  about  our 
several  families,  between  which  there  had  long  before  been 
an  alliance  by  marriage.  He  always  treated  me  with  the 
utmost  kindness ;  seemed  indeed  to  be  a  warm-hearted 
lover  of  his  race  everywhere  ;  but  while  he  forgave,  he 
could  not  always  forget  that  he  had  been  the  victim  of  bad 
treatment  from  some  of  his  fellow-artists  ;  chief  among 
those  he  censured  being  AVilliam  Dunlap  and  Thomas  S. 
Cummings.  The  artistic  battle  which  was  waged  between 
him  and  the  men  who  really  founded  the  National  Academy 
of  Design  was  more  bitter  than  it  should  have  been  ;  but  as 
25 


386  HAPHAZARD   PERSONALITIES. 

neither  of  the  parties  were  immaculate,  the  bitterness 
which  was  manifested,  and  has  been  perpetuated  in  print 
by  the  two  artists  just  named,  will  ever  remain  inexcusable. 
Dunlap,  we  all  know,  had  ability,  but  was  crotchety ;  but 
when  we  remember  that  Cummings  was  never  anything 
more  than  an  ordinary  miniature  painter,  it  is  refreshing 
to  recall  his  statement,  that  the  faults  of  Trumbull  were 
due  to  his  education.  When  he  died,  however,  even  the 
National  Academy,  through  Professor  S.  F.  B.  Morse, 
honored  itself  by  paying  him  the  homage  to  which  he  was 
so  justly  entitled. 

On  one  occasion,  I  remember,  while  seated  with  him 
in  his  parlor,  he  suddenly  pointed  to  a  blank  wall  and 
said  :  — 

"  Let  those  who  think  it  an  easy  thing  to  paint  a  pic 
ture,  go  to  that  wall  and  make  it  tell  a  story  !  It  is  a  very 
hard  thing  to  do.  To  produce  a  picture  or  a  book  that  is 
fit  to  live,  is  a  power  which  very  few  men  possess." 

Among  the  many  engravers  with  whom  Colonel  Trum 
bull  had  "business  transactions,  there  were  none  of  them 
with  whom  he  was  on  more  pleasant  terms  than  Mr.  John 
F.  E.  Prud'homme,  but  their  first  acquaintance  was  not 
particularly  edifying.  When  he  was  young  and  working 
for  another  engraver  already  established,  he  was  requested 
one  day  to  call  on  Colonel  Trumbull,  and  tell  him  that  the 
proof  of  an  engraving  was  then  ready  to  be  seen,  which 
the  engraver  had  been  making  from  one  of  the  painter's 
portraits,  and  after  Prud'homme  had  delivered  the  mes 
sage,  the  painter  suddenly  exclaimed,  "It  is  the  business 
of  Mr.  Blank  to  send  that  proof  to  me,  and  I  shall  not 
submit  to  his  impudence."  Sixteen  years  afterwards,  when 
Mr.  Prud'homme  had  occasion  to  engrave  a  portrait  by  the 
same  painter,  he  went  in  person  to  submit  a  proof  of  his 


JOHN  TRUMBULL.  387 

work,  when  he  was  very  kindly  received  by  the  colonel, 
who,  as  lie  placed  his  name  upon  the  proof,  took  occasion 
to  compliment  the  engraver  in  high  terms.  Not  only  that, 
but,  in  a  playful  manner,  he  recalled  the  original  interview 
between  the  parties,  asserting  that  there  were  always  cer 
tain  proprieties  to  be  observed  even  between  men  who  were 
quite  equal  in  all  particulars. 

In  the  various  conversations  that  I  had  with  this  emi 
nent  man,  he  touched  upon  so  great  a  variety  of  personal 
incidents,  that  I  felt  myself  to  be  in  the  presence  of  a 
most  remarkable  character.  I  was  with  him  in  fancy,  as 
he  struggled  with  his  books  in  college ;  as  he  talked  with 
military  men  about  the  better  plans  for  overcoming  a  wily 
enemy  on  the  battle-field  ;  while  struggling  with  adverse 
circumstances  in  painting  the  pictures  by  which  he  hoped 
to  perpetuate  the  honor  of  his  country,  and  the  personal 
appearance  of  our  greatest  heroes  ;  as  he  went  to  prison, 
defying  the  power  of  the  British  government ;  as  he 
feasted  with  the  great  men  of  England  and  France,  dis 
coursing  with  them  on  liberty  and  law,  religion  and  art ; 
while  battling  for  the  best  interests  of  art  with  men  who 
could  not  appreciate  his  ability  and  goodness  ;  and  I  saw 
him,  an  old  man,  almost  alone  in  the  world  which  he  had 
helped  to  elevate  by  his  sword,  his  pen,  his  pencil,  and 
the  example  of  a  brilliant  and  useful  life. 


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THE    DOUGLAS    NOVELS. 

BY  Miss  AMANDA  M.  DOUGLAS. 
Uniform    Volumes.  Price  $1.;">0  each. 

A  WOMAN'S   INHERITANCE. 

'  Like  all  the  romances  of  Miss  Douglas,  this  story  has  a  fascination 
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more  Neir$. 

OUT  OF  THE  WRECK;    or,  was  it  a  Victory? 
"  ISright  and  entertaining  as  Miss  Douglas's  stories  always  are,  this, 
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FLOYD    GRANDON'S    HONOR. 

"Fascit.ating  throughout,  and  worthy  of  the  reputation  of  the  author." 
-  -  Ptiiladelph  in  MfUtodiat. 

WHOM    KATHIE    MARRIED. 

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LOST    IN    A    GREAT    CITY. 

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THE    OLD    WOMAN    WHO   LIVED    IN    A    SHOE. 
"  The  romances  of  Miss  Douglas's  creation  are  all  thrillingly  interest 
ing." —  Cambridge  Tribune. 

HOPE    MILLS ;  or,  Between  Friend  and  Sweetheart. 
"Amanda  Douglas  is  one  of  the  favorite  authors  of  American  novel- 
readers.'1  —  Manchenter  Mirror. 

FROM    HAND    TO    MOUTH. 

"There  is  real  satisfaction  in  reading  this  book,  from  the  fact  that  we 
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NELLY    KINNARD'S    KINGDOM. 

"  The  Hartford  Religious  Herald  "  says,  "  This  story  is  sc  fascinating, 
that  one  can  hardly  lay  it  down  after  taking  it  up." 

IN   TRUST;  or,  Dr.  Bertrand's  Household. 
"She  writes  in  a  free,  fresh,  and  natural  way;  and  her  characters  are 
tever  overdrawn." —  Manchester  Mirror. 

CLAUDIA. 

"  The  plot  is  very  dramatic,  and  the  denoiiment  startling.  Claudia,  the 
heroine,  is  one  of  those  self-sacrificing  characters  which  it  is  the  glory  of 
th?  female  sex  to  produce."  —  Boston.  Journal. 

STEPHEN    DANE. 

"  This  is  one  of  this  author's  happiest  and  most  successful  attempts  at 
lyvel-writing,  for  which  a  grateful  public  will  applaud  her."  —  Herald. 

HOME    NOOK  ;   or,  the  Crown  of  Duty. 

"  An  interesting  story  of  home-life,  not  wanting  in  incident,  and  written 
tn  forcible  and  attractive  style."  —  New-  York  Graphic. 

SYDNIE    ADRIANCE  ;    or,  Trying  the  World. 
"  The  works  of  Miss  Douglas  have  stood  the  test  of  popular  judgment, 
and  become  the  fashion.     They  are  true,  natural  in  delineation,  pu«-«*  'Mid 
elevating  in  their  tone."  —  K-rprean,  Eaxton,  Penn. 

SEVEN    DAUGHTERS. 

The  charm  of  the  story  is  the  perfectly  natural  and  home-Hkt-  ai,  « xjck 
jervades  it.  

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J.  T.  TROWBRIDGE'S  NOVELS. 

NEW    UNIFORV^  EDITION. 
FARNELL'S  FOLLY. 

"  As  a  Novel  of  American  Society,  this  book  has  never  been  surpassed. 
Hearty  in  style  and  wholesome-  in  tone.  Its  pathos  often  melting!  to 
tears,  its  humor  always  exciting  merriment." 

CUDJO'S    CAVE. 

Like  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  this  thrilling  story  was  a  stimulating 
power  in  the  civil  war,  and  had  an  immense  sale.  Secretary  Chase,  ot 
President  Lincoln's  cabinet,  said  of  it,  "I  could  not  help  reading  it :  it 
interested  and  impressed  me  profoundly.  ' 

THE    THREE    SCOUTS. 

Another  popular  book  of  the  same  stamp,  of  which  "  The  Boston  Tran 
script"  said,  "It  promises  to  have  a  larger  sale  than  '  Cudjo's  Cave.' 
It  is  impossible  to  open  the  volume  at  any  page  without  being  struck  by 
the  quick  movement  and  pervading  anecdote  ot  the  story." 

THE    DRUMMER    BOY. 
A  Story  of  Burnside's  Expedition.     Illustrated  by  F.  O.  C.  DARLEY. 

"The most  popular  book  of  the  season.  It  will  sell  without  pushing." 
—  ZwiCs  Htruld. 

MARTIN    MERRIVALE:    His   X    Mark. 

"  Strong  in  humor,  pathos,  and  unabated  interest.  In  none  of  the  books 
issued  from  the  American  press  can  there  be  found  a  purer  or  more  deli 
cate  sentiment,  a  more  genuine  good  taste,  or  a  nicer  appreciation  and 
brighter  delineation  of  character."  —  L'ny/ix/i  t/oittiml. 

NEIGHBOR    JACKWOOD. 

A  story  of  New-England  life  in  the  slave-tracking  days.  Dramatized 
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is  one  of  Trowbridge's  very  best. 

COUPON    BONDS,  and   other  Stories. 

The  leading  story  is  undoubtedly  the  most  popular  of  Trowbridge's 
short  stories.  The  others  are  varied  in  character,  but  are  either  intensely 
interesting  or  "  highly  amusing." 

NEIGHBORS'    WIVES. 

An  ingenious  and  well-told  story.  Two  ueighi>ors'  wives  are  tempted 
beyond  their  strength  to  resist,  and  steal  ?ach  from  the  other.  One  is 
discovered  In  the  act,  under  ludicrous  and  humiliating  circumstances, 
but  ».H  generously  pardoned,  with  a  promise  of  secrecy.  Of  course  she 
her  secret,  and  of  course  j»erplexities  come.  It  is  a  capital  story. 

12mo.     Cloth.     Price  per  volume,  f  1.60. 


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BUT    A    PHILISTINE. 

"  Another  novel  by  the  author  of  '  A  Woman's  Word  '  and  » "Lenox 
Dare,'  will  be  warmly  welcomed  by  hosts  of  readers  of  Miss  Townsend's 
stories.  There  is  nothing  of  the  '  sensational,'  or  so-called  realistic, 
school  in  her  writings.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  noted  for  their  healthy 
moral  tone  and  pure  sentiment,  and  yet  are  not  wanting  in  STRIKING 
SITUATIONS  AND  DRAMATIC  INCIDENTS." — Chicago  Journal. 

LENOX    DARE. 

"  Her  stories,  always  sunny  and  healthful,  touch  the  springs  of  social 
life,  and  make  the  reader  better  acquainted  with  this  great  human  organi 
zation  of  which  we  all  form  a  part,  and  tend  to  bring  him  into  more  inti 
mate  sympathy  with  what  is  most  pure  and  noble  in  our  nature.  Among 
the  best  of  her  productions  we  place  the  volume  here  under  notice.  In 
temper  and  tone  the  volume  is  calculated  to  exert  a  healthful  and 
elevating  influence."  —  New-England  Methodist. 

DARYLL    GAP ;    or,  Whether  it  Paid. 

A  story  of  the  petroleum  days,  and  of  a  family  who  struck  oil. 

"  Miss  Townsend  is  a  very  entertaining  writer,  and,  while  she  enter 

tains,  at  the  same  time  instruct'*.     Her  plots  are  well  arranged,  and  her 

characters  are  clearly  and  strongly  drawn.     The  present  volume  will  not 

detract  from  the   reputation  she  has  heretofore  enjoyed."  —  Pittsburg 

Recorder. 

A  WOMAN'S  WORD,  AND  HOW  SHE  KEPT  IT. 
"  The  celebrity  of  Virginia  F.  Townsend  as  an  authoress,  her  brilliant 
descriptive  powers,  and  pure,  vigorous  imagination,  will  insure  a  hearty 
welcome  for  the  above-entitled  volume  in  the  writer's  happiest  vein. 
Every  woman  will  understand  the  self-sacrifice  of  Genevieve  Weir,  and 
will  entertain  only  scorn  for  the  miserable  man  who  imbittered  her  life 
to  hide  his  own  wrong-doing."— Faxhion  Quarterly. 

THAT    QUEER    GIRL. 

"  A  fresh,  wholesome  book  about  good  men  and  good  women,  bright 
and  cheery  in  style,  and  pure  in  morals.  .Tu-t  the  book  to  take  a  young 
girl's  fancy,  and  help  her  to  grow  up,  like  Madeline  and  Argia,  into  the 
sweetness  of  real  girlhood;  there  being  more  of  that  same  sweetness 
under  the  fuss  and  feathers  of  the  present  day  than  a  casual  observer 
might  suppose."  —  People'*  Monthly. 

ONLY    GIRLS. 

11  This  volume  shows  how  two  persons, 'only  girls,'  saved  two  men 
from  crime,  even  from  ruin  of  body  and  soul;  and  all  this  came  about  in 
their  lives  without  their  purpose  or  knowledge  at  the  time,  and  not  at  all 
ai»  they  or  anybody  else  would  have  planned  it;  but  it  conies  about  weli 
and  naturally  enough.  The  story  is  ingenious  and  graphic,  and  kept  the 
writer  of  this  notice  up  far  into  the  small  hours  of  yesterday  morning." 
—  Washington  Chronicle. 


Sold  by  all  booksellers  and  netrvdealers,  and  sent  by  mail,  postpaid, 
on  receipt  of  price. 

LEE  &  SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


SOPHIE  MAY'S  "GROWN-UP"  BOOKS. 


Uniform  Binding.    All  Handsomely  Illustrated.     fl.SO. 


JANET,   A    POOR    HEIRESS. 

"The  heroine  of  thin  slory  is  a  true  girl.  An  imperious,  fault-finding, 
unappreciative  father  alienated  her  love,  and  nearly  ruin*  her  temper. 
The  toother  knows  the  father  is  at  fault,  but  does  not  dare  to  nay  HO. 
Then  comes  a  discovery,  that  she  is  only  an  adopted  daughter;  a  for 
saking  of  the  old  home;  a  life  of  strange  vicissitudes;  a  return;  a  mar 
riage  under  difficulties;  and  a  discovery,  that,  after  all,  she  is  an  heiress. 
The  story  is  certainly  a  very  attractive  one." —  Chicago  Interior. 

THE    DOCTOR'S    DAUGHTER. 

"Sophie  May,  author  of  the  renowned  Prudy  and  Dotty  books,  has 
achieved  another  triumph  in  the  new  hook  with  this  title  just  issued, 
She  has  taken  'a  new  departure'  this  time,  and  wiiiu  n  a  new  story  for 
grown  up  folks.  If  we  are  not  much  mistaken,  the  young  folks  will 
want  to  read  it,  as  much  as  the  old  folks  want  to  read  the  books  written 
for  the  young  ones.  It  is  a  splendid  story  for  all  ages."  —  Lynn  Send 
Wttkly  Recorder. 

THE    A3BURY    TWINS. 

"The  announcement  of  another  work  by  this  charming  and  popular 
writer  will  be  heartily  welcomed  by  the  public.  And  in  this  sensible, 
fascinating  story  of  the  twin-sisters,  '  Vie '  and  '  Van,'  they  have  before 
them  a  genuine  treat.  Vic  writes  her  story  in  on*-  chapter,  and  Van  in 
the  next,  and  so  on  through  the  book.  Van  is  frank,  honest,  and  practi 
cal ;  Vic  wild,  venturesome,  and  witty;  and  both  of  them  natural  and 
winning.  At  home  or  abroad,  they  are  true  to  their  individuality,  and 
see  things  with  their  own  eyes.  It  is  a  fresh,  delightful  volume,  well 
worthy  of  its  gifted  author."  —  Boston  Contributor* 

OUR    HELEN. 

"'Our  Helen'  is  Sophie  May's  latest  creation;  and  she  is  a  bright, 
brave  girl,  that  the  young  people  will  all  like  We  are  pleased  to  meet 
with  some  old  friends  in  the  book.  It  is  a  good  companion-book  for  the 
'Doctor's  Daughter,' and  the  two  should  go  together.  Queer  old  Mrs. 
O'Xeil  still  lives,  to  indulge  in  the  reminiscences  of  the  young  men  of 
Machios;  and  other  Quinnebassel  people  with  familiar  names  occasionally 
appear,  along  with  new  ones  who  are  worth  knowing.  '  Our  Helen  '  is  a 
noble  and  unselfish  girl,  but  with  a  mind  and  will  of  her  own;  and  the 
contrast  between  her  and  pretty,  fascinating,  selfish  little  Sharley,  is  very 
finely  drawn.  Lee  X  Shepard  publish  it."  —  Holyokt  Tranvcript. 

QUINNEBASSET    GIRLS. 

'  The  story  is  a  very  attractive  one,  an  free  from  the  sensational  and 
impossible  as  could  be  desired,  and  at  the  same  time  full  of  interest,  and 
pervaded  by  the  same  bright,  cheery  sunshine  that  we  rind  in  the  author's 
earlier  books.  She  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  success  of  her  essay  in 
a  new  tiehl  of  literature,  to  which  she  will  be  warmly  welcomed  by  those 
who  know  and  admire  her  '  Prudy  Hooks.'  " 


Sold  by  all  booksellers  and  netextledteris,  and  sent  by  mail,  postpaid 
on    receipt  of  price. 

LEE   &   SHEPARD,  Publishers,  Boston. 


14  DAY  USE 

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